Most of those reading this blog likely surfs the dangerous waters of internet shopping and has pockets filled with gear that contains all sorts of useful personal info. With the way ancient banking and credit provision systems have been rudely shoehorned into the digital age, it's no surprise that many of them present potential security holes waiting to be exploited by fraudsters. But if you were to guess which item on your lot was the most insecure, you might be surprised.
Yep, it's your mailbox. While modern technology is the means by which the money is taken, the information required to get at it usually sits pretty behind nothing more complex than a latch and (unused) lock. In an SFGate story today, an alleged fraudster goes as far as to acquire high-end card making equipment to produce perfect replicas of California driving licenses, but got the fake identity beforehand the old-fashioned way.
Perhaps the most interesting part is that banks are happy to fire off exploitable information inside random circulars, and that courts treat such crimes as a joke. Thanks to Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn not taking identity theft seriously, he let the criminal off without punishment, despite her having stolen thousands of dollars and already being on probation.
For us, however, the moral of the story is that we should stop worrying so much about the "security" of our gadgets and computers, because that's rarely how villains steal identities. Padlocks and shredders, folks!
How victim snared ID thief [SFGate]
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