How easy is it to steal someone’s identity? How exactly do the thieves get your private information? It’s much different than most people believe. One of the biggest problems is that law enforcement is doing literally nothing to contain this worldwide problem. The answer is not in governmental Internet control, regardless of what they think.

I know many bloggers and site owners who are afraid to use their real names and pictures on the Internet, fearful their information may help out the criminals. I totally disagree with that. If you wish to protect your anonymity, do it for other reasons, not because you’re afraid of being violated. To understand how they steal your information, we must understand the criminal mindset.

LAN networks and phishing

Signing in to your e-mail account or buying something on line with a credit card is actually an unlikely place for crooks to get your information, unless it’s on a LAN network. If you use cable Internet or broadband, make sure you use a router. I personally wouldn’t plug an Ethernet cable into my computer without a router for protection. Never send private information over a LAN (local area network). For those of you who don’t understand, it’s a public network access point, like a coffee shop, hotel, college campus or at work. Never buy something on line while connected through a LAN. Your information can be stolen by any hacker using an easy to use Linux program like an Ettercap filter or many others. Using this method, the hacker’s digital footprints are virtually impossible to trace and you will never know who stole your information. Any non-technical person can learn how to steal information on a LAN in around thirty minutes – yes, it’s that easy.

Never sign into any financial account from an e-mail

If Pay Pal, or the IRS sends you an e-mail, DO NOT sign in using that link! It’s known a phishing – you may have heard of it (it’s shocking how many people don’t know really understand this). Neither one of these ever send those types of e-mails. If you get an email from pay pal saying you need to update your account information, do not answer it. If you’re concerned, Just go to Pay Pal directly and sign in. The most likely way for the criminals to get you on line is through a phishing attack.

Social Engineering

The methods listed above are not the most effective way for criminals to steal your information. The real way is through social engineering. For people like me and others interested in hacking, this is completely redundant information; however, I realize most of you have probably never even heard of it.

What exactly is social engineering? a collection of techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery for information gathering or computer system access and in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim.

Examples of Social Engineering:

• If you have a private, unlisted phone number, it is child’s play to get it. I could call the electricity company where you pay your bill, for example, and tell them I’m doing a reference check for homeland security. I would say, “Thank you for your help. The current phone number for Mr. Doe is 555-7125-5479, is that correct?”
  They answer, “No, the correct number is…”
  Boom…I have your private, unlisted number. This is a simplified method, but you get the idea.

• Kevin Rose, co-founder of DIGG, had a fantastic example of social engineering on his web based video show “The Broken” about how to get free pizza for life. He walked into a pizza delivery behind a customer and stood in line so he could overhear their order. After getting their name and what they ordered, he walked out. Thirty minutes later, he called the pizza place, told them he had come in earlier and received a bad pizza but couldn’t eat it. He talked to the manager, got a free pizza comp and reordered. He went down and picked up his free pizza. He chose a place that did mostly deliveries, but used the identity of a walk in customer – very smart indeed. Just don’t be dumb enough to actually try it, you may go to jail.

The Art of Deception

Hacking is not a bad thing and hackers are not bad people. There are hackers and there are crackers (script kiddies, punks or chumps), it is the crackers who do evil things. A hacker builds things and makes them better, a cracker breaks and steals things. Hackers built the Internet, so they are beneficial people. My favorite hacker of all time is Kevin Mitnick. I highly recommend reading his book, The Art of Deception, the bible of social engineering.

I read this book a few years ago and just reread it again. The best way to protect yourself is to understand how your information is actually stolen. This book is of monumental importance – a must read for everyone. You do not even have to use the Internet to have your information stolen. This book shows you in a series of real world examples, how information thieves operate. This book will open your eyes to the true reality of how it’s done. I have the utmost respect for Kevin Mitnick for turning his life around and doing something great for society.

Check out part 2: Identity Theft: Corruption is Everywhere

Tags: credit cards, hacking, identity theft, Internet Security, privacy, social engineering