As Online Identity Theft Continue To Rise, Knowledge In Information Security May Be Crucial In Mitig

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Shoppers who buy goods online for parcel delivery need to think about the possibility of being targeted by cybercrime before it actually happens to them. A senior director of consumer products at internet security specialist Norton said most consumers tend not to think about being a victim of fraudsters.
It has been reported that the recorded level of cybercrime is likely to be far lower than the actual figures. "Official statistics are likely to be conservative, as many people do not know who to turn to in the event of a cyber attack, which means it is usually left unreported," Mr Nadir explained.
A survey from the US Bureau Justice of Statistics showed that cases of fraud to the police were reported by only 49% of the victims. The typical victim of swindlers was usually an elderly man with a low educational level and income
In the UK, fraud losses on credit and debit cards totalled £440m in 2009. Fraudsters are continuing their switch from traditional card fraud to raiding online bank accounts, according to new research.
The UK Cards Association said that criminals were hoping to avoid banks' own security ...
... controls by tricking people out of their personal details through scams, or by infecting home computers with software that gathers these details.
This is when fraudsters trick people into entering their personal details on a website or in an e-mail. Norton's estimations of £1.9 billion in damages caused by cybercrime would equate to £103 per Briton affected by the scourge over the year.
Stephen Ley, partner at accountancy firm Deloitte, said: "In the next year clear customer information from banks will remain key to reduce fraud further. A better-educated consumer is less likely to fall foul of phishing attacks. Customers have to protect themselves on their computer, remaining vigilant and using good security software.
Identity fraud, which is also called Identity theft, occurs when scammers steal credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or even mothers' maiden names. Law enforcement officials indict about 400,000 Americans affected annually. Unlike other types of fraud, identity theft can be extremely difficult to detect until the damage is done. In addition, it can be accomplished over a period of months or even years, before the unwary victim even realizes there's a problem.
Identity thieves can work in several ways, but the basis is the same. They gather personal information in order to steal from that individual. Called a "faceless" crime, the perpetrators never see the person they are hurting.
They may open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth and Social Security number. When they use the card, and don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Once the credit is maxed out, the imposter disappears and moves onto another victim
Some call the credit card company, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your account. They the imposter runs charges. Because the bills are being mailed to the new address, you may not immediately realize there's a problem
One way to mitigate internet security risks is with technical security training. EC-Council’s brand new TakeDownCon is a technical information security conference series, in addition to learning from some of the best security experts, TakeDownCon also offers highly sought after technical training courses, including the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) course, often touted as the world’s most comprehensive ethical hacking training program.
The CEH Program certifies individuals in the specific network security discipline of Ethical Hacking from a vendor-neutral perspective. The Certified Ethical Hacker certification will fortify the application knowledge of security officers, auditors, security professionals, site administrators, and anyone who is concerned about the integrity of the network infrastructure. A Certified Ethical Hacker is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker.

ABOUT EC-COUNCIL
The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various e-business and security skills. It is the owner and developer of the world famous ethical hacking training, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) course, Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) program, License Penetration Tester (LPT) program and various other technical security training programs offered in over 70 countries around the globe. EC-Council has trained over 80,000 individuals and certified more than 38,000 security professionals. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the US federal government, National Security Agency (NSA), Committee and National Security Systems (CNSS), US Army, FBI, Microsoft and CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Team) of various nations. TakeDownCon Dallas 2011, is one of the conferences of EC-Council’s Take Down information security conference series.