Cyber mafia out to steal your identity

Phising, online fraud, and hacking are passe;. Internet users will soon face an identity theft.

Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report, April 2010, talks about the latest threat that has been doing the rounds in several countries across the world.

“People would have no idea that Trojans in their computers are sending confidential data to a host server that controls the virus,” David Freer, vice-president, Symantec (Asia Pacific Japan region), said. “Bank account details or passwords that can enable a person to make banking transactions will be passed on to host servers. The same information can also be sold to criminals who can misuse it for online shopping where checks are minimal.”

Once the cyber mafia gets hold of such information, Freer said, they could carry out financial transactions in various countries. The victim would know of it only when the bank informs him/her about the transactions. The victim would be affected in other ways too. Despite filing a complaint, the bank would send his/her name to the credit information bureau if he/she fails to clear dues, Freer said.

The mafia would not stop at this. They would sell the identity information for a mere five to ten dollars, he said. A person may be forced to change his identity details in banks and other places to get rid of the cyber mafia.

“Several Indians use the Internet; but they rarely take proper precautionary measures,” an IT expert said. “People generally opt for free anti-virus and anti-spam software. But this is of no use when dealing with new viruses.”

Cyber security expert Vijay Mukhi said identity theft is at a nascent stage. “But it will not be long before it becomes a major issue,” he said. “We are adopting European and American ways of online banking and financial transactions. Moreover, we do not have any specific law to deal with it.”