A Brief History of Cybercrime and Cyberwarfare - The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - page 402

• Phishing or sending bogus emails that request personal information
• ATM skimming or using an illegal device that captures card data
• Hacking into the databases of retail stores and other businesses
• Stealing identity information from relatives or friends
Because identity theft is so common in today's world, there are, fortunately, re-
sources available to aid in canceling credit cards and restoring credit ratings. These
will vary from city to city and state to state, but in today's world, the police in ma-
jor cities have trained investigators. Credit card companies can also provide sup-
port, as can banks. There are also commercial identity theft recovery companies,
although not all of these are competent and effective.
Many government agencies can provide brochures and advice for those affec-
ted by identity theft. These include the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Secur-
ity Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the FBI. Various military
services have internal aid for members of the uniformed services.
A number of nonprofit organizations can assist in identity theft recovery either
via the web or by phone. Examples include the Identity Theft Resource Center and
CreditReport.
The credit-reporting companies of Equifax, Transunion, and Experian also
have identity theft support services.
Identity theft is a continuing and growing problem and will probably stay that
way for the indefinite future. Only the replacement of alphanumeric information
with unique physical attributes such as retina prints or fingerprints is likely to
bring about significant reductions in identity thefts. Encryption of personal data
might also help, assuming that the encryption methods are secure.
Normally, identity thefts are of concern for individuals. However, the Septem-
ber 15, 2012, edition of the Providence Journal had an article about the identity
theft of an entire LLC corporation, and a security company at that. The LLC had
been registered in Florida. Someone sent in a corporate amendment form and a fee
of $25 to the state. This amendment form, which was not checked or validated by
state officials, provided a new owner for the corporation and a new business mail-
ing address. The theft entitled the new “owner” to borrow money in the company's
name because the State of Florida confirmed ownership by the hijacker!
To date, this may be a unique kind of identity theft without any other examples.
Most state governments do not validate amendments to corporate documents when