Identity Theft Skeptic Ends Up As Fraud Victim

An anonymous reader writes "British TV host Jeremy Clarkson recently wrote a newspaper editorial ridiculing the uproar that had occurred after the British government admitted to losing two compact discs containing the personal information on 25 million people. To support his claim about the overhyped risks of identity theft, he published his bank account information in the article. Proving that some identity thieves have a sense of humor, a week later, he found out that someone had set up an automatic bank transfer for $1000 to a diabetes charity from his account. This comes less than a year after the CEO of LifeLock, an identity theft protection company which publishes the CEO's social security number on its website, himself was a victim of financial fraud. Back in July of 2007, a man in Texas was able to secure a $500 loan from a payday loan company using the CEO's widely publicized SSN. Will this latest incident finally prove that identity theft is real, and that publishing your own financial info is an invitation for fraud?"

Comments

He had it coming...

[Red Samurai]

That was a pretty arrogant move, even for his standards, and I'm sure he's be humbled (somewhat) after being taken down a peg. I guess that's the price you pay for overconfidence.

How??

[jackjeff]

How in hell is this possible?

Isn't your bank the only institution able to transfer money out of your account? Don't you have to show your ID? Don't you have to sign some documents???

My opinion is ID theft is only possible because the clerks in the banks are too lazy to check for an ID or a signature. Whenever you go to a bar in the US, they will look at your ID before they serve booze, but if you set up a $xxxx account/load no one will ever check it. This is just how ridiculous the system is. Account number without proof of identity should be as useless as a car without gas.

Re:If you give it away

[Billosaur]

Well, giving away the information for free doesn't make it a crime for you to possess the information. If you then use it, claiming you are a person you are not, that's fraud and illegal in most jurisdictions.

Re:If you give it away

[Jhon]

When I freely publish my business name and address in the phonebook, is it really accurate to call it theft when someone breaks in to my store and steals my stuff? Granted, it's not the same thing, but to publish your personal information does not give someone the right or permission to use that information for fraud any more than publishing my business address gives someone the right or permission to commit B&E.

With regards to "identity theft" vs "money theft", the end result is usually the theft of money. The label of "identity theft" basically describes HOW the theft took place...

available information vs. foot in mouth

[MyNymWasTaken]

The information he gave out was the same information a person gives out when they hand over a check. It's analogous to a pundit loudly proclaiming that it is perfectly safe to walk around outside. This is then demonstrated by walking through a large crowd of people. Somebody decides to prove otherwise & stabs them in a non-lethal manner solely to illustrate the point.

Re:Privacy Amendment

[Doc Ruby]

I hear this all the time, usually from Anonymous Cowards too scared to say something so anti-American in public. So I always rebut it, because I understand America, rights and government.

America is built on the simple, but radical (for the 1780s, anyway) realization that people have rights, create governments to protect those rights, so when we create them, we must create them with powers to protect them, but not to abuse them. We have a right to privacy, as the 4th Amendment says. The government exists to protect it,

Or are you going to tell me that, say, the 13th Amendment banning slavery limits only the government from owning slaves? No, freedom is a right. Rights are inalienable, not just "inalienable by the government".

Re:If you give it away

[Hognoxious]

If you then use it, claiming you are a person you are not, that's fraud and illegal in most jurisdictions.

And any bank and its imbecile staff that allows you to pretend to be someone you aren't because they can't be arsed to properly check[1] should be liable for the loss themselves.

Before anyone claims that giving his bank account number out was irresponsible - it's printed on the bottom of your cheques.

[1] Even if more than one person can have the same name, it should be easier than normal in this case.