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Government To Fix Identity Theft?
Cobb writes "With nearly 50 million identities compromised in the last 6 months, the powers that be are gearing up to fix the problem. 'Prosecutors and privacy experts say that what America needs is a coordinated national strategy. While 15 states require companies to tell consumers if their data has been compromised, there's still no national law.' A new study joins a host of other statistics -- some private, some government-sponsored -- attempting to quantify the size of the ID theft problem. There is no universal agreement on the size of the problem, on the way to count the victims, or even on how to define identity theft."
Databases are a pain to maintain.
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
~~~
Perhaps if banks and merchants would control credit a little better we might not have as much of a problem. They could start by not sending credit card offers to my dog.
[Insert pithy quote here]
Yep, that'll help. Except for all those criminals who don't obey the law.
Ronald Reagan was right, the most frightening words in the English language are "Hi, I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
All movements for social change begin as missions, evolve into businesses, and end up as rackets.
Logic would dictate that your information is private BY DEFAULT, as in other enlightened countries.
The only way to fix the problem is not to have all these laws after the fact, but to stop the sharing at the source. For example, you sign-up at a bank for a new account. You cannot at that time ask for you information not to be shared. You must call up later and say:
1) I don't want my information shared to third-parties.
2) I don't want my information shared to afflilated companies.
3) I don't want any offers, etc.
If you miss one your screwed. Just think of all the things you've registered for where your information is flying around. It's absolutely unstoppable.
I'd love to do a credit freeze on my account, but in Texas you can only do that AFTER you prove to the credit companies that your a victim of identity-theft. That's like handing out a condom after rape.
The credit-bureaus snap back that without access to the sea of "metadata" people won't get all these advertisements for low-interest lows and crap like that. Makes me want to puke.
Maybe we can change out our SSN#s every so often, but otherwise I assume having your identity stolen will be common-place in 5 to 10 years.
Peace out!
Happy 4th.
"This isn't a study in computer science, its a study in human behavior"
The issue is gaining momentum, with several bipartisan proposals aimed at restricting the use of Social Security numbers and creating a new cyber-security center. The latest bill would require companies that collect data to tighten controls and tell customers how that information is used.
Good! It's by no means the silver bullet in identity theft, but I really get sick of having companies ask for my SSN when it's none of their goddamned business! Even when I took Sun certifiation exams, the unique identifier that they wanted to use was my SSN! Exactly what business is it of a certification examination center to have my (or anyone's) SSN?
The problem, however, is one that government will never be able to fix - consumer stupidity. It's staggering that people are so shocked when they find out that their identity was stolen, yet they will look at you dumbfounded if you ask them:
* Do you shred all of your mail, bank statement, receipts, and so forth before throwing them away?
* Do you make sure to never purchase from e-mails that you didn't ask for?
* Do you make sure to purchase on-line through secure, HTTPS connections?
* Do you willingly give out information to people on the phone who claim to be from one business or another?
I'm sure that the government will do what it can (even if it further tramples on our individual rights one way or another) but until the general public stops their carelessness with personal information or materials that contain personal information, identity theft will keep going and going just like that damned rabbit.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
The reason identify theft is the fasteest growing problem is that a lot of crimes that used to be called something else is now called identify theft.
Someone steals your credit card number and orders porn? That's no longer credit card fraud, that's identity theft.
Someone forges a check against your bank account for porn? That's no longer check fraud, that's identity theft.
Somebody ordering a pizza in your name, because they can't afford porn? That's no longer a phone prank, that's identity theft.
Nearly all economic crime can now be classified as identity theft. Nearly all is being so classified.
It's impossible to tell how much of a problem there is, at this point. We're all too distracted by watching the sky falling.
Identity "theft" is not the fault of the offended party, so why should they have to spend their resources fixing it?
The best idea yet is that unless the creditor can prove that you authorized any purchases made on your account, then they have to eat it. It is the creditor's job to make sure they know who to whom they are giving credit. It is then ultimately their responsibility to track down identity thieves. If their internal policies are so lax, that they don't know their customers from a hole in the ground, then they need to shape up. I think that this policy is the only way to get them to fix these problems, by hurting their bottom line.
Yeah..this is something I fear. I was reading in the local paper recently...that this could really crush SMALL businesses, that may do simple things like directly charging customers' checking accounts. Basically, this notification could really open so many up to lawsuits, and in our present ligitious society these days...well, I think that is a given.
Personally, I wish they'd go in the direction of outlawing, the wholesale trading and selling of personally identifiable information...especially the Social Security number...
I wish they's make it illegal to use it as an identifier in any public database not directly associated with SS taxable income.
If they didn't have the one person unique identifier out there in so many of these databases...that link so much information together over disparate databases, the theft perhaps wouldn't be as painful or dangerous to the individual.
I wish they'd make the selling of this data illegal..companies like Acxiom scare me really...they have info on most anyone in the US, and when I'd left there years ago, their computer security to the 'net wasn't secure enough to ease my concerns. And they're not the only ones...just one of the big ones.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
We want to be able to walk into a car delership, bank, electronics store and walk out with whtever it is we want on credit. The only way this is possible is for the financiers to have access to our "credit history" to see what interest level they can shaft us with. If we are so ticked with identity theft, the quickest cure is for us to have a little patience and wait a couple of days for purchase confirmation on big ticket items, and callbacks on others.
Let's say you go to an online merchant and made a purchase. The financial institution should then call you at the phone numbers of record, that you gave when you opened the account, to confirm that it is indeed you that is making the purchase. This would maybe slow us down, and horror of horrors may force us to actually think about whether or not we actually need whatever it is that we are purchasing.
We have been so trained to want things instantly that we are willing to give up part of our financial security for immediate "satisfaction".
Sorry for the rant, but it isn't just the companies that are to blame, and a solution that punishes the institutions without challenging our ways of thinking about the way we approach our finances is only going to change the problem's appearance, not fix it.
I'm a happy pessimist. I expect and prepare for the worst, when it doesn't happen I am pleasantly surprised.