Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; Identity Theft; and Data Security
Guilty Pleas in ID Theft Bust
| Title: | Guilty Pleas in ID Theft Bust (ID: CSD4295) | | Author(s): | Kim Zetter (Wired News) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | Six individuals caught in a Secret Service sting called Operation Firewall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit credit and bank card fraud and ID document fraud. Two other individuals involved in the scam previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. All were among 19 who were indicted last year, charged with running a private-access Web site where people from around the globe bought and sold sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and fake IDs. The ID theft ring is thought to have trafficked in more than1.5 million credit card numbers, close to 18 million e-mail accounts, and other information that was used to buy and sell merchandise online.One who pleaded guilty, Wesley Lanning, specialized in making and selling fake IDs. His attorney, Marc Leibman, said that although Lanning sold most of the IDs to teens to use to buy beer, "obviously everyone is concerned that some...militant is going to get one of Wesley Lanning's fake IDs and use it to transport a bomb." | | View this resource: | |
U.S. Colleges Struggle to Combat Identity Theft
| Title: | U.S. Colleges Struggle to Combat Identity Theft (ID: CSD4161) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | "Despite their image as leafy enclaves of higher learning shielded from the real world, universities across the United States are finding themselves on the front lines of the battle against identity theft. With their huge databases, universities may rival financial institutions as attractive targets for the crime, estimated to affect over 9 million Americans a year at the total cost of more than $50 billion, experts said. Nearly half of the publicized incidents of data breach since January occurred at universities, according to the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center." | | View this resource: | |
Hackers Steal ID Info From Virginia University
| Title: | Hackers Steal ID Info From Virginia University (ID: CSD3659) | | Author(s): | Declan McCullagh (CNET News.com) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | George Mason University has become the latest institution of higher education to be the victim of hackers' accessing personal information of faculty and students. University officials said that hackers gained access to information including names, photos, Social Security numbers, and campus ID numbers for "all members of the Mason community who have identification cards." An e-mail sent by the university's vice president for information technology indicated that the intruders appeared to be seeking "access to other campus systems rather than specific data," but the message warned that the information the hackers obtained could be used for identity theft. George Mason had ended its practice of putting Social Security numbers on ID cards, replacing them with university-generated numbers, in response to a Virginia state law that required such a change. The university maintains a database, however, that includes Social Security numbers. University officials discovered the intrusion on January 3 and said the hackers gained access to records of more than 30,000 faculty, staff, and students. | | View this resource: | |
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