Nov 13, 2006 6:44 pm US/Central
Expert Shows How To Fight Identity Theft
by Bennett Cunningham
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Identity theft is a booming business, and strikes about nine million Americans each year. With the help of an expert, we were able to infiltrate a hackers' safe haven and expose what for sale and what's at stake.
"It's like the den of identity thieves here. The treasure den," said Dan Clements. Clements is on a mission to warn banks and consumers. He's with a company called CardCops, which has infiltrated hundreds of these chat rooms.
There's a dangerous new underworld operating on the internet --secret chat rooms and message boards where the hot commodities are: Social Security and credit card numbers, bank account details, even your secret PIN code.
"It is up for sale in cyberspace right this very minute," according to Clements.
And while it's nearly impossible for the average person to locate these sites, computer savvy identity thieves have no trouble finding them. Clements took us underground to show us how big the problem is.
Clements explained, "We see 426 hackers are in this room right this very minute."
One hacker, who calls himself "Tiger" sells something called a 'full': A complete personal profile -- including name, credit card number, date of birth, even the PIN. A thief could easily make charges, open new credit, even wipe out bank accounts. While costly for victims, the information comes cheap. A credit card number sells for about $2. If it comes with a PIN, it's as little as $10.
While scanning the sites, we came across Scott Holanda's personal information. His address, Social Security Number, even his mother's maiden name. We tracked Holanda down to warn him. He said, "I was very surprised when I was notified."
Holanda believes the thieves got his information after he answered an email that looked very real but turned out to be a scam.
The ID theft victim added, "It indicated that I was being charged for a purchase and if the purchase was not accurate to return the email with my personal information."
That one small misstep has forced Holanda to clean up a big mess. By the time we got to him, his credit card had already been fraudulently used.
"It was cancelled and a new card and number were issued," added Holanda.
So, how can you keep your personal information off the online underground? Never answer an email asking for personal information and shred all financial paperwork. And for extra protection, set up a fraud alert with the credit bureaus. You will be notified if anyone tries to open an account in your name.
You should also order a copy of your credit report annually to see if any unauthorized accounts have been opened in your name.
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