This week the media has reported on a number of major instances of identity theft which all confirm the fact that as the Australian Crime Commission (ACCC) reports, identity theft is the “fastest growing crime in the country”.

The National Identity Fraud Awareness Week, running this week from 17-23 October has thrust identity theft issues in Australia right into the spotlight.
It almost looks like there has been a ‘storm’ of identity theft – with warnings and recorded cases in most major news over the past few days.

The press coverage of major identity theft news in this country is interesting. It brings to light the possibility that this news could happen on any given week, and that because of the NIFAW, these instances have been given extra attention by the press. This should cement for Australians the emergence of a very real crime with often dire consequences.

Identity theft can not only impact a person’s finances, but also their ability to borrow in the future. By extracting personal details and using those to take out credit in their victim’s name, fraudsters can take a person’s good credit rating and basically destroy it.

A significant amount of a person’s ability to borrow in the future rests on their credit file, which is the file the credit reporting agencies keep on each person who is credit active in this country. If a potential borrower has any adverse listings showing up on their credit file, lenders will generally refuse credit. The catch is…adverse listings remain on credit files for 5-7 years depending on the type of listing. So an identity theft victim can have that crime impact them for a significant time following the event if their name has been used to obtain credit in fraudulent circumstances.

And recovery is not as simple as calling creditors and explaining what has happened. Under Australian credit reporting law, often the victim requires a great deal of documentary evidence, including Police reports to prove they did not initiate the credit.

So identity fraud awareness should continue every day, with more focus from Governments, Police, Companies’ and most importantly, consumers on ways to stay protected from identity crime.

The ACCC’s website has a great host of information on identity crime, which includes a list of preventative tips, which people should print out, talk about and put into practice in their lives.

Here are some of those media reports which we found significant:

Credit card fraud

Raids in Sydney’s Ashbury and Haymarket yesterday uncovered a substantial identity crime operation. Police found 12,000 fake credit cards, with a face value of $30m, a number of blank NSW driver’s licences, computer files and equipment allegedly used in the manufacture of fraudulent documents.
The Daily Telegraph reported in its story ‘Fake credit cards worth $30m seized along with drugs and cash’ that each card had a credit limit of $2500.

Amongst the seizures were $20,000 in cash, 90 grams of amphetamines, drug paraphernalia and designer clothing and jewellery valued at about $100,000.
The operation was carried out by the Identity Security Strike Teams (ISST)  – made up of  Australian Federal Police, NSW Police Force, Roads and Traffic Authority and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The teams investigate serious and complex identity security matters forming a collaborative network among law enforcement agencies to effectively deal with this crime.

Bank account fraud

The Sydney Morning Herald reported this morning on a fraud scandal involving two major Australian banks. The story ‘Citibank left with
$500,000 fraud bill after impostor scam’ details the findings of a NSW Supreme Court judgment from an incident in which Citibank and National Australia Bank and their customers were caught up in a circumstance of fraud.

In November 2010, Citibank’s Sydney branch received a fax from what appeared to be a Citibank client instructing the transfer of US$500,000 from his multi-currency at call account, to a NAB account jointly held in his name.

Using the SWIFT international clearing house system of international funds transfers, Citibank transferred the money to the NAB account. A few days later, NAB’s World Square branch received faxes of three international telegraphic transfer application forms, each ostensibly signed by the same client.
The first form, dated in October, requested a transfer of $15,000 to an HSBC Hong Kong account.

The second and third forms, dated November, both requested $225,000 transfers to HSBC Hong Kong accounts.

The Herald reports the NAB assistant branch manager checked the signature on the forms against the client’s signature on its verification system, and as there were sufficient funds, transferred the sums.
However, the faxed instructions to both banks were false.
The client and the joint signatory on the NAB account had sued the banks, and had since settled and had their money returned.

Judy Hitchen, a spokeswoman for Citibank said the customers were ”the unfortunate victims of a sophisticated identity theft”.
”The court noted that there was no allegation of negligent conduct or failure by the banks to meet relevant banking standards. In fact, through verification and control systems in place at the time, we were able to constrain the losses by detecting and preventing a subsequent attack on the customers’ account,” she said.

The case is being investigated by Australian and overseas police.

Dumpster diving to steal personal information

Today Tonight also hit identity theft this week, with a story on what is known as ‘dumpster diving’. The story titled ‘Identity theft alert’ featured cyber-fraud hunter from SOPHOS, Rob Forsyth. He revealed that dumpster diving – where crooks go through people’s rubbish bins looking for personal information – is a ‘nightly epidemic’.

“They

[fraudsters] know, because it’s public information which councils have pick-ups on which day, and whether it’s garden waste or recycled waste, and they will cruise through those streets in the middle of the night and go through the garbage bins,” Forsyth said.

Today Tonight revealed that two in five Australians put old bank statements and other key personal papers into recycling.

Identity fraudsters will return over weeks, compiling piece by piece, until the jigsaw is complete, and then selling that abroad – dumped bank statements, credit card offers, phone bills, which already bear the person’s name and address.

“That waste paper is worth millions to the right people,” Crime Stoppers Australia CEO Peter Price said.
Recycling robbery is now his number one target in a national identity fraud awareness campaign being launched next Monday.
“In some instance there’s a black market where people actually bid for this information, almost like an on-line auction, and they’ll start using that information to buy stuff almost immediately,” Price explained.

Once the information is stolen, your identity is shipped around the world in seconds, and that’s when the cyber hunters come in.

Identity theft and cyber fraud cost Australia $8.5 billion every year. One in five Australians will be hit, more than four million people, and it’s getting worse every day.

Data breach threat prevented

Australian Super account fraud has been a growing phenomenon in Australia, with Police announcing official warnings in June for Super account holders to take care of their accounts and look for any changes that may point to identity theft.

It was revealed on Tuesday that an Australian Super Fund’s computer system was exposing its members to a possible data breach.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in its story ‘Super bad: First State set police on man who showed them how 770,000 accounts could be ripped off’ about an account holder (who happened to be a security consultant) of Superannuation fund First State, stumbling upon a major flaw in the company’s data base. The error allowed the account holder to download the account information of First State customers.

“…the details revealed on the statements were a fraudster’s dream, including full names, addresses, email addresses, membership number, age, insurance information, superannuation amount, fund allocations, beneficiaries and employer information.

Nigel Phair, a former cyber cop turned cyber crime consultant, said the information obtained could be used to take over customer accounts. “Since superannuation is a set and forget saving mechanism, account holders may only suspect an account takeover when they receive their annual statement (assuming they read it in detail),” he said.

First State Super, which sent a letter to some members on October 7 informing them of the breach, has over 770,000 members and over $30 billion in funds under management. A large portion of its members are NSW public sector employees and their spouses, including police, politicians and magistrates.

Thanks to the good work of the account holder, the data breach threat was fixed immediately, but Phair says had this exploit been discovered by someone with malicious intent then the outcome would have been significantly more serious.

A recent global survey reveals widespread concern over data breaches and the security of personal information. A survey conducted online by Harris for US-based identity management specialist SailPoint, showed the majority of adults in the United States, Great Britain and Australia are worried about possible exposure of their personal information, and a large percentage of adults have lost confidence in how companies protect their personal information.
For people who need help with credit repair following identity theft, or for extra information on credit files and identity theft, call MyCRA Credit Repairs tollfree on 1300 667 218 or visit the main website www.mycra.com.au.

Image: thanunkorn: FreeDigitalPhotos.net