Slashdot Mirror
Massive Online ID Fraud Ring Busted
Iphtashu Fitz writes "CNet News is reporting that the US Secret Service in conjunction with authorities in six foreign countries have arrested 28 people in the last 48 hours on charges of identity theft, computer fraud, credit card fraud and conspiracy. Dubbed Operation Firewall, the Secret Service identified a group of people who stole over 1.7 million credit card numbers as well as a passport-forging facility in Bulgaria. The investigation started in July 2003 when the Secret Service began investigating an unspecified financial crime. They identified the website Shadowcrew.com whose members traded tutorials and information about identity theft and forgery and exchanged sensitive personal and financial information. The Shadowcrew website has since undergone a makeover thanks to the Secret Service. A press release about the operation can also be found on their website."
What I would really like, more than the arrest of identity thieves, is the entire identification system become more immune to this kind of theft. By simply eliminating the suspects, the actual threats posed by them have only been reduced in number, not in level of threat. All those identity insecurities still exist in the system waiting to be taken advantage of the next time some palooka decides it's worth it to skim off a few credit card numbers.
I surely don't have the solution to fix the identity theft problem. In fact, I would leave it to my colleagues here at Slashdot who are much more knowledgable about security issues than I am to hammer out the fine details of a more secure system.
As we become more dependent upon our identification numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and every other number which identifies and tracks us, we open ourselves up to this kind of identity theft threat. The solution is not simply to lock up the perpetrators, it must be a technical solution which makes it difficult or impossible to steal an identity.
well lets think about this. 1) Take it down: 3972 members thinking "oh the site's just down temporarily" 2) Put up the cool USSS site: 3972 members scared for their lives so that they stop their illegal activities and turn themselves in to USSS. (Not to mention have a mental breakdown next time they see Mission Impossible!) Hmm..I think it's a damn good decision.