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11-06-2009, 08:52 PM
Identity Theft Handbook - Detection, Prevention and Security 2009
http://i40.tinypic.com/2dse5wh.jpg
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | ISBN 978-0-470-17999-4 | English | PDF | 129 Pages | Size: 2.14 MB
Introduction
This is the book that I have always wanted to write. In fact, I have been preparing for it for 30 years, since my early days investigating mail theft and credit card fraud. ‘‘Identity theft’’ was not even a term then. That would come in the 1990s. The crime had many names, but it was always the same. Identity theft was and is an evil with a life of its own. It has grown from just an American problem into a worldwide epidemic that shows no
signs of ending.
My first experience with identity theft was in 1978, when I was a newly hired United States Postal Inspector in the New York metropolitan area. I heard other inspectors tell stories of fraudulent credit card applications and the resulting credit card frauds, the ease of obtaining personal information and phony identification to perpetrate this crime, how foreign nationals were behind many of the schemes, and how much money the banks and growing credit card industry were losing. It seemed like such a simple crime to commit. By 1981, I was assigned to a team of federal agents investigating mail theft involving credit cards, checks, and other valuables sent through the mail. I saw firsthand how identity theft occurred and how easy it was to perpetrate. It still would be years before the crime would get the name ‘‘identity theft.’’ At the time we called it credit card fraud, fraud apps (for credit card application fraud), true name fraud, and the Crime of the ’80s. As I investigated case after case, I came to the realization that this was not just any typical fraud.
Back then there were not many in law enforcement involved in fighting this crime. As the epidemic grew, more and more federal, state, and local law enforcement agents would learn about and start investigations into identity theft. Even though we were making arrest after arrest of defendants involved in this crime, other fraudsters just took their places. It felt like we were fighting a losing battle. We realized that prevention needed to be embraced and evangelized to the public as well as the financial services industry. Perhaps education and awareness could stem the tide. By the mid-1980s, other agents and I were speaking about the growing problem to anyone who would listen but especially to law enforcement, credit card and bank investigators, and the media. I said things like ‘‘It’s a major problem throughout the country; the problem is growing so much that it is overwhelming law enforcement agencies; cooperation between banks, credit bureaus and law enforcement is essential to address the problem; and
it’s a growing problem and can destroy the credit industry as we know it if we don’t stop it.’’ I made these comments on a 1985 video for the TransUnion credit bureau to show to its employees, financial services employees, and law enforcement. The video was titled Crime of the 80s.
In September 1986, I had the honor of testifying before the United States Senate about emerging criminal groups, credit card fraud, and the phony identification used to perpetrate this crime. Nowhere in the hearings transcript is the phrase ‘‘identity theft’’ but every person there was describing it as they spoke. In writing this book, I looked at my testimony and was struck by something I said. Asked about the impact on victims, I responded:
Basically, it is a horror story for the individual. The banks assume the losses so the individual does not have to pay the losses out of his pocket, but the real problem is the effect on the individual’s credit rating. . . . I know of cases where the people, a year or two after the fraud, and after they have contacted the credit bureaus to clear up their name, they still have problems getting credit, including credit cards, mortgages, and other loans.
http://i36.tinypic.com/mvkg7n.jpg
http://www.easy-share.com/1905550483/Identity Theft Handbook - Detection, Prevention and Security 2009.pdf
http://i40.tinypic.com/2dse5wh.jpg
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | ISBN 978-0-470-17999-4 | English | PDF | 129 Pages | Size: 2.14 MB
Introduction
This is the book that I have always wanted to write. In fact, I have been preparing for it for 30 years, since my early days investigating mail theft and credit card fraud. ‘‘Identity theft’’ was not even a term then. That would come in the 1990s. The crime had many names, but it was always the same. Identity theft was and is an evil with a life of its own. It has grown from just an American problem into a worldwide epidemic that shows no
signs of ending.
My first experience with identity theft was in 1978, when I was a newly hired United States Postal Inspector in the New York metropolitan area. I heard other inspectors tell stories of fraudulent credit card applications and the resulting credit card frauds, the ease of obtaining personal information and phony identification to perpetrate this crime, how foreign nationals were behind many of the schemes, and how much money the banks and growing credit card industry were losing. It seemed like such a simple crime to commit. By 1981, I was assigned to a team of federal agents investigating mail theft involving credit cards, checks, and other valuables sent through the mail. I saw firsthand how identity theft occurred and how easy it was to perpetrate. It still would be years before the crime would get the name ‘‘identity theft.’’ At the time we called it credit card fraud, fraud apps (for credit card application fraud), true name fraud, and the Crime of the ’80s. As I investigated case after case, I came to the realization that this was not just any typical fraud.
Back then there were not many in law enforcement involved in fighting this crime. As the epidemic grew, more and more federal, state, and local law enforcement agents would learn about and start investigations into identity theft. Even though we were making arrest after arrest of defendants involved in this crime, other fraudsters just took their places. It felt like we were fighting a losing battle. We realized that prevention needed to be embraced and evangelized to the public as well as the financial services industry. Perhaps education and awareness could stem the tide. By the mid-1980s, other agents and I were speaking about the growing problem to anyone who would listen but especially to law enforcement, credit card and bank investigators, and the media. I said things like ‘‘It’s a major problem throughout the country; the problem is growing so much that it is overwhelming law enforcement agencies; cooperation between banks, credit bureaus and law enforcement is essential to address the problem; and
it’s a growing problem and can destroy the credit industry as we know it if we don’t stop it.’’ I made these comments on a 1985 video for the TransUnion credit bureau to show to its employees, financial services employees, and law enforcement. The video was titled Crime of the 80s.
In September 1986, I had the honor of testifying before the United States Senate about emerging criminal groups, credit card fraud, and the phony identification used to perpetrate this crime. Nowhere in the hearings transcript is the phrase ‘‘identity theft’’ but every person there was describing it as they spoke. In writing this book, I looked at my testimony and was struck by something I said. Asked about the impact on victims, I responded:
Basically, it is a horror story for the individual. The banks assume the losses so the individual does not have to pay the losses out of his pocket, but the real problem is the effect on the individual’s credit rating. . . . I know of cases where the people, a year or two after the fraud, and after they have contacted the credit bureaus to clear up their name, they still have problems getting credit, including credit cards, mortgages, and other loans.
http://i36.tinypic.com/mvkg7n.jpg
http://www.easy-share.com/1905550483/Identity Theft Handbook - Detection, Prevention and Security 2009.pdf