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Identity Theft by Mohammed Patwary and Faid Abdullahi

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Identity Theft by Mohammed Patwary and Faid Abdullahi

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The highlights of the padlet are on the topic of Identity Theft. We will be explaining all the types of theft over here.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/04/14/identity-theft-growing/2082179/
This website contains information the growing of identity theft which is costing life to innocent victims. It explains how much percentage of credit card theft has increased and upto how much it will reach by the year 2020. It also gives a slight insight on the life of the victims suffering. It also says what the criminals want from these identity theft for example, passwords, SIN, license number and so on.

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Identify theft is expected to surpass traditional theft as the leading form of property crime.

Your credit-card data is out there. And criminals are buying and selling it in bulk.

Credit-card data theft is exploding, increasing 50% from 2005 to 2010, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Millions of card numbers are for sale. A single number might go for $10 to $50; a no-limit American Express card number for a consumer with good credit can sell for hundreds of dollars, said Monica Hamilton, marketing director at cybersecurity firm McAfee Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif.

As a result, identity theft has become big business. The number of malicious programs written to steal your information has grown exponentially to an estimated 130 million from about 1 million in 2007, Hamilton said.

The most successful identity thieves have learned that it's more lucrative to hack into businesses, where they can steal card numbers by the thousands or even millions.

Losses suffered by the businesses they hack can be staggering - an estimated $150 to $250 for each card number stolen. Those costs come in the form of legal settlements, fees for consultants hired to remove malware, and personnel hours spent notifying customers. The costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher retail prices and credit-card fees.

Identify theft, defined as the successful or attempted misuse of credit-card, bank-account or other personal information to commit fraud, is expected to surpass traditional theft as the leading form of property crime. Security analysts say everyone should prepare to become a victim at some point.

Other types of identity theft, including the filing of fraudulent tax returns, also are growing fast.

Yet identity theft often goes unreported, and the crimes that are reported are rarely investigated.

"Police don't want to be bothered. It's a difficult crime to investigate, and the feeling is, "Oh, we're never going to catch these guys.""
Mark Rasch, cybersecurity specialist
Most merchants are content to clean up the damage from an attack, rather than pay for better preventive measures, said Mark Rasch, a cybersecurity specialist and a former federal cybercrime prosecutor in Bethesda, Md.

That approach isn't likely to change unless consumers pressure businesses they patronize to get serious about security.

Financial institutions have become savvy about spotting potentially fraudulent activity and quashing questionable transactions. Thus far, banks have made identity theft relatively painless for consumers by covering their immediate losses. But some analysts wonder whether that approach will be sustainable as the problem grows.

Most local law enforcement lacks the personnel and expertise to investigate smaller identity crimes, and the FBI is only interested in massive cases involving hundreds of victims or more, Rasch said.

"Police don't want to be bothered," he said. "It's a difficult crime to investigate, and the feeling is, 'Oh, we're never going to catch these guys.' "

According to Phoenix police, it is often impossible to locate the perpetrators of identity-related crimes, which makes them among the most difficult cases to solve.
Unhappy returns
Kellie Droste got surprising news from her accountant last month.

An identity thief had stolen the Maricopa, Ariz., resident's personal information and filed a tax return in her name to claim her refund.

"He (her accountant) couldn't file our joint tax return, because someone had already filed a tax return under my Social Security number," Droste said.

Droste reported the fraud and was told it would take at least six months to sort out the matter. Meanwhile, she would have to wait to receive her $2,700 tax refund.

Droste is among thousands of taxpayers victimized by a fast-growing form of identity theft in which stolen personal information is used to file fraudulent tax returns. And although fraudulent tax returns are popular with criminals right now, they represent the tip of the iceberg.

Identity theft is especially prevalent in Arizona, which had more victims per capita than any other state in 2010, with about 149 victims for every 100,000 residents. California, Florida, Texas and Nevada also were leading states for identity theft, according to Federal Trade Commission data.
Victims suffer
Most victims suffer little more than the inconvenience of having to replace their credit and debit cards.

But when a stolen identity is used to apply for additional lines of credit, the victim can spend years trying to resolve bad debt run up by thieves in their names. Some struggle to borrow money because of the damage to their credit scores. Others have been forced to file bankruptcy and lose their homes.

"Software is fallible, and software can be compromised."
Kim Singletary, business-security expert at McAfee Inc.
It's not uncommon for victims to suffer multiple forms of identity theft, as was the case with Droste. A customer-service representative from Discover called in August to inform Droste, a speech therapist, that her recent credit-card application was incomplete.

"I hadn't applied for a Discover card," she said.

The identity thief somehow had managed to get her Social Security number, full name and date of birth, Droste was told.

Droste said she spent dozens of hours on the phone trying to stop the fraudulent applications. She filed a police report and even had an excellent lead for investigators to pursue: an address which had been used on some of the applications.

It didn't seem to matter, Droste said. She was told there was little the police could do.

When asked for comment on the challenges of investigating identity theft, Phoenix police deferred to the department's online identity-theft victim packet.

"In identity theft cases it is difficult to identify the suspect(s) as they often use inaccurate information such as addresses and phone numbers," it states. "Frequently the investigator cannot find evidence to prove who actually used the victim's name and/or personal information over the phone or Internet."

A 2012 study, by the Washington, D.C.-based Identity Theft Assistance Center, found that child identity theft is even more difficult to detect and resolve than adult identity theft.

One problem is children often don't find out until years later that their identities were stolen and their credit histories damaged.

Another disturbing aspect of child identity theft is the prevalence of "friendly fraud," in which a family friend or relative - often the child's own parents - steals the child's identity, using the child's pristine credit history to open credit-card accounts and take out mortgages and loans.

According to the study, more than 70% of reported child identity fraud is friendly fraud.
Challenge for retailers
Individuals can have their identity stolen in a number of ways, including while swiping credit or debit cards at the cash registers of trustworthy retailers.

Identity thieves use computer programs to infiltrate retail systems and begin siphoning off bank-card numbers when purchases are made.

Point-of-sale system hacking is a serious and growing problem, according to business-security expert Kim Singletary.

Singletary, director of technical solution marketing at McAfee, said the security-software company has discovered about 130 million unique malware programs from across the Internet, up from just 1 million in 2007.

Many of the programs are designed to infiltrate point-of-sale systems and steal customer data that can be sold or used to make fraudulent purchases, Singletary said.

The fact is, no retailer can protect customer data with 100% certainty because every store, from huge chains to small mom-and-pops, relies on computer systems that are inherently vulnerable, she said.

"Software is fallible, and software can be compromised," Singletary said.
Little enforcement
Merchants, who usually incur the greatest losses from identity theft, often don't pursue an investigation because it's expensive, and the chances of solving the crime are slim, former federal prosecutor Rasch said.

As a result, identity thieves usually get away with their crimes, Rasch said.

"They get to do this with impunity," he said.

The upshot is that it's easier and safer for an identity thief to steal $100,000 worth of credit-card numbers than it would be to shoplift an inexpensive item from the store, Rasch said.

Rasch said he worries about the cumulative effect of that lack of enforcement.

"These crimes are going to become more numerous, and they're going to become more sophisticated," he said.
What thieves want
According to Phoenix-based cybersecurity expert Mark Pribish, identity thieves look for specific pieces of information:

* User names, passwords and PIN numbers.

* Social Security numbers.

* Phone and utility account numbers.

* Bank and credit account numbers.

* Employment and student identification numbers.

* Driver's license and passport numbers.

* Professional license numbers.

* Insurance identification numbers.

* College or university financial-aid form information.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/100xWQt

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Identity theft growing, costly to victims

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Identify theft is expected to surpass traditional theft as the leading form of property crime. Your credit-card data is out there. And criminals are buying and selling it in bulk. Credit-card data theft is exploding, increasing 50% from 2005 to 2010, according to the latest figures from the U.S.

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/identity-theft-insurance-is-it-worth-it-1.2919364
Most identity theft insurance, which costs around $25 to $50 per year, but it won't prevent or alert you to identity theft but it  will rather reimburse you for the losses or expenses that you may incur as a result of the crime. This certain news website explains whether it is worthed or not to take an identity theft insurance.

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A CBC investigation about an Ontario woman who was defrauded on three different occasions for thousands of dollars at her bank seems like a perfect illustration of why people should invest in identity theft insurance.

But there is disagreement among industry experts about whether insurance like this is necessary.

Identity theft insurance is "generally not a good deal," says John Lawford, executive director and general counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa.

He says that Canadian banks will generally cover losses anyway, meaning that a $20-a-month insurance premium may be superfluous.

On the other hand, Walid Hejazi, a professor at the Rotman School of Management who specializes in information security for businesses, says additional coverage is nonetheless worthwhile.

As he sees it, it can help defray other expenses associated with fixing your financial affairs once you've been compromised, expenses such as administrative fees, postage, hiring a lawyer and time off work.

"I would argue that those insurance policies are fantastic, because all of those other costs can be quite significant," says Hejazi.

Switched banks

Identity theft occurs when an individual captures another's person's vital information - such as a social insurance number, a driver's license or a banking password - and then impersonates that individual, either virtually or physically, in order to steal funds.

This is what happened to Meghann Johnston, who was a three-time victim of identity fraud. Each time, an imposter walked into an RBC branch pretending to be her, presented fake ID and was allowed to withdraw money from her account.

The bank reimbursed Johnston on all three occasions, and each time reassured her that it was implementing safeguards to ensure it wouldn't happen again. After three breaches, Johnston says she has switched banks.

According to statistics gathered by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which is a branch of the RCMP, identity theft has been on the rise.

In 2008, the CAFC reported there were 12,309 victims of identity fraud in Canada, with a total reported loss of about $9.7 billion.

In 2012, there were 17,009 incidents and nearly $16 billion in losses. Halfway through 2014 - the last period for which there are statistics - the CAFC had documented over 10,000 victims and $4.7 billion in losses.

Due to how insurance companies report, it's not easy to track how many Canadians currently have fraud insurance. But it appears to be increasingly common.

"It's popular in the sense that it's being offered more and more, and likely there are more and more claims occurring because of that," says Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Phishing expeditions

Karageorgos says there are a number of ways a person could become vulnerable to fraud.

You might leave a document with your address or social insurance number in a public place. You might unwittingly divulge some sensitive data through one of your social media accounts.

Or you might fall prey to an email phishing scam and reveal your bank password.

"Today, with online banking and all sorts of online transactions and e-commerce, there are a lot more access points available for someone to become you and steal your identity," says Karageorgos.

Unlike financial institutions in countries such as Great Britain, Canadian banks are generally willing to reimburse people who have been defrauded, regardless of whether they have insurance, says Hejazi at the Rotman School.

"In Canada, if there's identity theft or somebody uses your credit card or accesses your bank account, as long as you can prove it to the bank, the banks are pretty good at reimbursing you," he says.

However, in his view, the inconvenience and administrative costs of resolving fraud make added coverage a sensible option.

Insurance 'not the problem'

While many insurance firms provide fraud coverage as a standalone product for a monthly premium, some companies also offer it as a rider on larger asset coverage, such as home or auto insurance.

PIAC's Lawford says this option is generally cheaper and basically gives you the same coverage.

"That's probably the most cost-effective option, if you feel you want this stuff," says Lawford.

Ultimately, he believes insurance "is not the answer to the problem."

He thinks a better solution to identity theft is "mandatory breach notification" - that is, legislation that would force financial institutions to immediately tell a customer when they've been compromised.

A bill that would compel companies to report data breaches in a timely fashion to clients as well as the federal privacy commissioner was introduced in Parliament in 2010, but it has yet to be passed.

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Identity theft insurance: Is it worth it? | CBC News

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A CBC investigation about an Ontario woman who was defrauded on three different occasions for thousands of dollars at her bank seems like a perfect illustration of why people should invest in identity theft insurance. But there is disagreement among industry experts about whether insurance like this is necessary.

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http://www.canadianliving.com/life-and-relationships/money-and-career/article/how-to-prevent-identity-theft
This website by canadian living explains and gives us a few tips on how to prevent identity theft. By securing our data at home, online, and even when we are out and about, we can eliminate many of the opportunities for identity theft to occur.

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You are at a restaurant and the bill arrives. You put your credit card on the tray along with the bill, and your server picks up the tray and says he will be right back. A few moments later, your card is returned. You sign your bill and put away your card.

This is a normal experience for most people. However, in those few moments when it was out of your sight, your card could have been swept through a reader that scans all the personal information on it. That's all identity thieves need to start the ball rolling. They can have the mailing address for your credit card statement and PINs changed within moments. Then they can access your credit report file, driver's licence information and all other personal information about you. This can happen to you: it has happened to millions of people.

Five signs that your identity may have
been stolen
1. and statements do not arrive when they are supposed to.

2. Financial account statements show withdrawals or transfers you did not make.

3. A lender calls to say you have been approved or denied credit for which you have not applied.

4. You do not get your annual insurance renewal forms or income tax forms.

5. You do not receive your quarterly property tax bill.

Steps to follow
* Act quickly and effectively. As you go through the necessary steps, remember that all communication should be in writing. Even if you call because of the urgency to notify parties, such as the credit bureaus and the bank, follow up in writing to confirm your conversations.

* Contact the police immediately. Always ask for a copy of the police report and keep it in your files. This will establish a useful paper trail that will be vital to defending yourself successfully in any court action. Keep the phone number of your investigator handy and give it to your creditors and others who require verification.

* Keep a written record. A written record of transactions, dates and conversations may be crucial later in proving you did what you say you did and when you say you did it. If a credit card company takes you to court for a bill that the identity thief incurred, it might take your written record to prove that you should not have to pay.

* Notify the major credit bureaus: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. When you believe you are a victim of identity theft, either bureau that you notify has an obligation to notify the other. However, notify both of the credit bureaus yourself. Do it by telephone followed up by a written notice by certified mail.

* Confirm that the fraud warning is on your credit report. Ask each credit bureau in writing to provide you with a copy of your credit report so you can see for yourself that the fraud notice is in place. It will stay on your credit report for five years. The fraud warning requires creditors to confirm your identity before extending credit.

* Keep a copy of all documents. Save all letters and copies of your credit report. It is vital evidence in any court action. Ask each of the credit bureaus for the contact information for each credit grantor that has opened accounts for your stolen identity, as well as the contact information for each credit bureau member that made credit inquiries.

* Remove unauthorized inquiries. Find out how many credit inquiries have been generated due to the fraudulent access. Ask the credit bureaus in writing that these inquiries be removed. Confirm by looking at your credit report yourself.

* Monitor new inquiries. For at least a year, order a copy of your credit report every month to monitor any new inquiries.

Be prepared
* In addition to names, addresses and phone numbers, thieves look for documents containing social insurance numbers, driver's licence numbers, credit card and banking information, bank cards, calling cards, birth certificates and passports.

* At home, store your birth certificate in a safe place along with other valuable documents, including your passport; shred documents after they expire.

* Review your monthly statements. Review the balances on your statements from banks, credit cards and companies regularly and report any discrepancies right away. If your bills do not arrive, or you applied for a new credit card that has not arrived, call the credit grantor immediately.

Take care while away
* If you are going to be away from home, ask a trusted neighbour to pick up your mail, or go to your local post office (with identification) and ask for their hold-mail service.

* Keep a close eye on your credit cards. Always check to see that the credit card you get back after it is used is your own.

Protect yourself
* Be wary of giving out any personal information over the telephone unless you have placed the call yourself or know the business. Never tell anyone the password you use at the automated teller machine (ATM), and be sure no one is watching when you use an ATM.

* Do not use e-mail to send personal information. Think about creating "disposable" e-mail addresses for online purchases, masking your address or using a unique e-mail address. After completing any sort of financial transaction online, make sure you sign out of the website and clear your Internet file/cache.

Safeguard credit card information
* Do not give a credit card number or other identification information to a company that does not provide their name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address.

* Display limited personal information on your cheques.

* Pay cash when you can.

* If your wallet or computer is stolen, cancel all cards and change all passwords.

* Keep a list of all account numbers and identification documents, and emergency contact info for each one.

Who you gonna call?
* Equifax Credit Information Services, Consumer Fraud Division, 1-800-465-7166
* TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Department, 1-877-525-3823, (for residents of Quebec) 1-877-713-3393.

Excerpted from The Complete Guide to Credit & Credit Repair for Canadians (Nixon-Carre Ltd., 2005, $24.95) by Mike Morley.

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How to prevent identity theft | Canadian Living

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You are at a restaurant and the bill arrives. You put your credit card on the tray along with the bill, and your server picks up the tray and says he will be right back. A few moments later, your card is returned. You sign your bill and put away your card.

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http://www.noidentitytheft.com/criminal-identity-theft/
Criminal identity theft involves impersonation and it’s one of the worst kind of identity theft and it is very hard to clean up. , Lawbreakers will tend to utilize a stolen personality by falsely identifying themselves as the proprietors of the identification. This sort of impersonation is commonly utilized when the criminal commits a minor misdemeanor or traffic infraction.

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http://www.noidentitytheft.com/financial-identity-theft/
Financial identity theft happens when someone gains access to your financial information and uses it while pretending to be you. The thief could be a stranger who hacked your computer, or could be someone you know who gained access to your personal data .Also,  financial identity could create other problems such as credit card misfortunes. Negative mark in one’s credit data can lead to loss of work opportunities and difficulty securing loans.

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Image#3 - Social Security Identity Theft - 

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Image#3 - Social Security Identity Theft - 

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https://www.mountainalarm.com/blog/social-security-identity-theft/
A Social Security Number (SSN) is one of the most important assets of an American since it empowers access to legitimate employment and other opportunities. Because of this, fraudsters look for after social security numbers which they use to access employment, open financial accounts and even steal money and property.

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Video#1- $10,000 wiped from my account." Real identity theft victims, Alicia's story

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Video#1- $10,000 wiped from my account." Real identity theft victims, Alicia's story

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https://www.youtube.com/watchtime_continue=2&v=o6Z2sDi3RSs
This video is a real identity theft story of a victim, Alicia. She tells about how she was wiped of about $10,000. It show us how risky using public Wi-Fi can be. When we use public Wi-Fi our network traffic is exposed and it’s easy for hackers to access personal information like our passwords, social security number and even money.

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"$10,000 wiped from my account." Real identity theft victims, Alicia's story – F-Secure TOTAL

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Video#2 - My three years Identity Theft Hell 

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Video#2 - My three years Identity Theft Hell 

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-13/my-three-years-in-identity-theft-hell

This news story tells us the 3yrs of horrible identity theft of Mr Drew Armstrong. He tells us that how he had accounts with so many banks and yet he didn't even make any of them.It took him 3 yrs to clear this issue.After telling his story, he goes on to tell us few key important things from being safe from identity theft.

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The banker at Wells Fargo looked across her desk at me with the pained expression of somebody who wants to sell you something but can't.

"I see you already have several accounts with us, Mr. Armstrong," she said. "Are you sure you're a new customer?"

I was and I wasn't. I had accounts everywhere, and most of them weren't mine. This wasn't the first time, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last.

Between 2013, when my identity was stolen, and this May, I tried to prove to credit bureaus and banks that I was me and not the thief. The fake accounts he created shut me out of crucial parts of the consumer finance economy. I was denied credit cards, got harassed by collection agencies, and was told not to bother putting my name on a mortgage application for a house my wife and I were trying to buy.

The other me was living it up. Back in August 2013, wielding a driver's license with my name and his picture, he opened accounts at four banks in two days and got a credit card with Bank of America. He hit the exclusive Delano Hotel in Miami Beach. He shopped at Whole Foods. He sold an RV to some Texans online, didn't deliver it, then sent their $39,000 to Russia. There's footage of him at a Wells Fargo branch, according to an indictment filed by prosecutors. He sits there posing as me, opening accounts.

Photographer: Lori Hoffman/Bloomberg

I got the first call from the police two months later. It would take more than three years for them to bring the case to its conclusion. In the meantime, our lives kept intersecting while the cops and the FBI followed me. Him.

And it wasn't just banks. Flying to London for work, I was waiting in the business class lounge when I heard my name called over the intercom. There were two men there with badges.

"Are you carrying any monetary instruments?" one of them asked as they went through my bags. They pulled out my credit cards and money clip. There was a single, tattered dollar the texture of suede.

"One dollar, cash," the border agent wrote down on a scrap of paper.

Every time I entered or left the U.S., I'd be pulled aside, my bags searched, and let go up to an hour later. Once it happened on the jetway as I was boarding. More often it was in a back room full of other detainees. In Atlanta, on the way back from a wedding in Brazil, I saw two customs agents looking over somebody's open Tupperware container. "It's a rat," one of them said. It was, in fact, a dried rat.

Eventually I explained my situation to the TSA. After I got a letter with a "redress number," I traveled with it clutched in my hands like the promise of safe passage in Casablanca. I was never searched again.

Mine wasn't the only life my impostor was living, and it didn't always go so well for him. He had at least one other fake ID, which raised a flag with at least one bank manager. When the manager went to make a copy, the guy ran out of the branch and jumped into a getaway vehicle, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI agent investigating the case.

I spent hours on the phone with Bank of America, explaining to one representative that I'd never had their card. "Thank you for being a Bank of America customer," she said.

It's a nightmare Americans go through every year. There's another you out there, living your life while you wander among the financial and bureaucratic wreckage they've left in their wake. More people are likely to be victimized after the massive hack of 143 million Americans that Equifax Inc. announced last week. In that breach, thieves took Social Security numbers, addresses, driver's license data, and birth dates.

Those are "the keys to the kingdom," said Bo Holland, CEO of AllClear ID, an identity-monitoring service. "Once you have somebody's name, social, birth date, and address, you can go and open new accounts."

Which is exactly what my guy did, according to the financial records. He had used the bureaucracy to become me, and I would have to use it to detach us.

"At the front end, it was so easy for the thief to get in there like a tornado, and you're left doing the cleanup," said Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps people dealing with ID fraud.

There's a logic to the maze you have to run to expose fraudulent financial accounts. In an economic system where U.S. consumers carry $12.73 trillion in household debt, you shouldn't be able to just call up, say "it wasn't me," and leave thousands of dollars in obligations by the wayside.

But do they have to make it so hard?

"You have to get the language right, you have to be sure you're talking to the right department of the right agency in the right organization," Velasquez said. "You have to get the right forms. At least a couple of them, you're going to have to repeat those steps, because somebody didn't get the right note or it got lost."

I spent hours on the phone with Bank of America, being passed around from department to department. I explained to one (very helpful!) representative that I'd never had a Bank of America credit card.

"Thank you for being a Bank of America customer," she said toward the end of our call.

I started to say something but stopped.

Here's what I sent them, in the end: a signed statement saying I was me and that the accounts were fraudulent, an affidavit I'd filed with the Federal Trade Commission swearing I'd had my identity stolen, copies of my driver's license, passport, and Social Security card, a lease, two phone bills, a letter from the Justice Department, the criminal complaint filed by the prosecutors, and Bank of America's own credit card records.

It occurred to me that if anyone got their hands on that, they'd have everything.

BofA sent me things, too. I got a 1099-C tax form. My impostor ran up credit card bills, which the bank had written off. That counted as income, and I'd need to consider it in my taxes.

They also mailed me checks. They had overcharged the fake me $105.37 in fees, so they issued a refund to the real me. The checks are still in a file. I never cashed them, afraid I might re-entangle my life with my fraudster's.

We are buying the house after all (my wife and I, not the guy and I), but I'm not to participate in the financing process or include my assets or wages in the application. That can mean a higher rate on the loan, one credit expert told me.

While I was suffering, the other me hit Miami Beach, sold a phantom RV to some Texans online, sent their $39,000 to Russia. There's footage of him at a bank, as me, opening accounts.

"Resolving identity theft issues is a complicated process," said Betty Reiss, a Bank of America spokeswoman. "We make every effort to work with victims and help resolve their situation as quickly as possible."

There are ways to protect yourself, if you know about them, which I didn't in 2013. Consumers can set up fraud alerts with the credit bureaus, telling financial institutions to take extra care before they allow a new account. They can also ask for a credit freeze for stronger protection.

"Fraud alerts are free, and they alert all three bureaus and every creditor in the country," said AllClear's Holland. "But unfortunately not many people take the steps to use them."

Part of the problem, said both Holland and Velasquez, is that we make it too easy in the U.S. to access important information or open new accounts.

"We demand convenience over security," Velasquez said. "When you have an experience like you've had, convenience becomes less of a priority." Both suggested more use of two-factor authentication, like a password and a code sent to your cellphone, instead of easily circumvented authentication questions like confirming a high school mascot or a mother's maiden name.

I got security questions very much like those when I went to the website of one of the three major rating agencies to get a copy of my credit report and entered my Social Security number and date of birth. One showed me a list of addresses and asked which I'd lived at recently. There was an address in Florida and several others I didn't recognize.

None of the above, I clicked. And promptly was locked out.

The man who can answer that question is in prison. Yet the mess he created is probably still out there, waiting for me to walk into a new bank and find out he's been there first.
Drew Armstrong is U.S. health care team leader at Bloomberg News.

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The banker at Wells Fargo looked across her desk at me with the pained expression of somebody who wants to sell you something but can't. "I see you already have several accounts with us, Mr. Armstrong," she said. "Are you sure you're a new customer?" I was and I wasn't.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-am-you-hear-hackers-threats-to-identity-theft-victim/

This crazy video says the story of Art Damiao. He was called from a hacker demanding a hefty ransom with a terrifying threat, "I am you". Even though Art Damiao has no clue on how the hacker got his driving license,email address ,ebay and few other details.

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LOS ANGELES -- Americans have been scrambling for weeks to protect their credit reports after Equifax revealed it had been hacked, leaving 143 million vulnerable to identity theft.

So, what happens if thieves get hold of your personal information?

IT specialist Art Damiao's nightmare began when a hacker called him after breaking into his personal email.

"He said, 'I am the hacker that's in control of your email right now,'" 36-year-old Damiao told CBS News correspondent Anna Werner. "He said, 'I have all your information,' and I said, 'OK, what's my Social Security?'"

"He started reading it back to be," Damiao said.

"And he was correct?" Werner asked.

"I didn't let him finish," Damiao said.

Damiao hung up, but the high-tech intruder then called again, leaving a voicemail message demanding ransom.

"Hello Mr. Damiao, you will not get your email address back, you will need to contact me and give me the amount of $300 via bitcoin," the message said. "I also have your Social Security number, your driver's license number, front and back. I can basically pretend to be you right now. I am you."

"I was terrified," Damiao said. "Because there's this guy that wants to pretend to be me."

"That made it real," he added.

Next, he started getting text alerts, notifying him in real time as the hacker tried to change his passwords for his eBay profile, his Amazon account, and then his bank account.

"It kind of felt like I was done for," Damiao said. "He pretty much had control of everything I do online."

He doesn't know how his information was stolen, but for criminals, it can be all too easy.

Cybersecurity expert Serhat Atli took Werner on a tour of the "," where criminals sell hacked information like Damiao's.

In one listing, someone is selling 1,500 names, along with Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

"You can buy anything online," Atli said.

On the "dark web," Social Security numbers can go for as little as $1, a driver's license for $20 and a complete medical record with detailed information for as much as $1,000.

"How much does the Equifax hack information help these guys here?" Werner asked Atli.

"If I have somebody's Social Security number, the address, etc., I can obtain all of these documents [like passports and birth certificates] with all the information that was leaked from Equifax," Atli said.

"Is there a real potential here that somebody gets your information and turns themselves into Anna Werner 2.0?" Werner asked.

"Yes," Atli said. "It's not easy to prove that you are you if there's another you."

Damiao finally regained control of his identity, but fears others won't be so lucky.

"No one knows where this guy is," he said. "I mean, who knows what he is capable of?"

Damiao did not pay the bitcoin ransom. He doesn't know how his information leaked out, but says he did learn from the Equifax website that he is one of the millions of victims of that hack, which he says is certainly suspicious timing.

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"I am you": Hear hacker's threats to victim of identity theft

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LOS ANGELES -- Americans have been scrambling for weeks to protect their credit reports after Equifax revealed it had been hacked, leaving 143 million vulnerable to identity theft. So, what happens if thieves get hold of your personal information? IT specialist Art Damiao's nightmare began when a hacker called him after breaking into his personal email.