Counter Crime Agency Alerts People against Identity Theft and Fraud

Jan. 31, 2011 - PRLog -- The easy availability of information on the Internet has helped the cause of the criminals who extract relevant personal and financial information of the targeted individuals. Criminals mine data by gaining unauthorized access to customer databases of online shopping sites and universities, by sending phishing e-mails to bank customers, and exploring social and professional networking sites. Identity theft is one of the major forms of crime, which affects Internet users worldwide. The U.S state of Colorado has witnessed increasing number of identity theft and fraud cases. The state ranks ninth in terms of rate of identity theft complaints in the country.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a campaign against Identity theft by launching a new helpline (855) 443-3489 for victims of identity theft and fraud. The helpline will guide the users who seek to safeguard themselves from identity theft as well as the victims of Identify theft and fraud. The investigative agency has alerted users against accepting and replying to uninvited credit card offers on their e-mails. CBI has also advised users to disclose social security numbers only with trusted sources. To protect users against dumpster diving, the investigative authority has alerted users to shred all printed personal or financial information before discarding them.

Usually, identity theft cases are investigated by local authorities, while CBI focuses on large crimes. The launch of the helpline indicates the growing instances of identity theft. Criminals may use the extracted information such as name, age, contact address, social security numbers, credit card numbers, student enrolment number and bank account numbers to open fresh credit card accounts, seek student or personal loans, conduct unauthorized transactions and submit fake tax return applications.

Usually, victims realize the occurrence of crime after several months, when their loan applications are turned down or when they receive communication from financial institutions for non-payment of dues. As such, most of the identity theft cases remain unreported. Hesitancy on the part of the police officials to investigate cybercrime incidents is also responsible for fewer complaints. Computer forensics online training program may help counter crime officials in understanding evidence protection techniques, probing the affected computer system, and examining the log files.

Attackers may intrude into personal computers to mine personal information of the targeted users. Criminals may also masquerade the identity of an employee to extract privileged business information.  Unattended laptops and unlocked computer systems also pave the way for a person with malicious intention to access sensitive information. Conviction of offenders is crucial to restrict identity theft and fraud cases. Professionals who have cleared computer forensic training  programs generally help investigative authorities in detecting the crime trail.

As identity theft may be committed by a family member, friend or a co-worker in the company, evidence protection assumes significance. IT professionals must be encouraged to undertake computer forensics courses and enlighten themselves on first response procedures, evidence protection and incident handling techniques.

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EC-Council
Website:  http://www.eccouncil.org
Email:  iclass@eccouncil.org
Tel:  505-341-3228

EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world.

EC-Council has trained over 80,000 individuals and certified more than 30,000 members, through more than 450 training partners globally. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. federal government via the Montgomery GI Bill, Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS). EC-Council also operates EC-Council University and the global series of Hacker Halted security conferences.

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iClass is EC- Council's online training delivery platform. Students can attend live, or recorded training sessions for courses such as Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Security Analyst (ECSA) or Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI).