Identity Theft: It's Not About You

Technology is a real time-saver for criminals. They can scam thousands of less-savvy Internet users by sending legitimate-looking PayPal or AOL queries. Mail promising recipients incredible mortgage rates must rake in piles of Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, and bank account information. The height of criminal gall was the message I received earlier this month. It warned that some of my Internet provider's customers had been victims of identity theft, and I was directed to a well-crafted Web site ostensibly set up by my provider. I checked it out through a cloaking gateway. The site walked me through a maze of harmless questions and "please wait -- checking our records" delays to gain my trust, then it asked for my SSN for account verification.

InfoWorldreaders wouldn't fall for this, but we all have countless family members and co-workers who would. For them, an Internet-connected computer is an inherently trustworthy appliance. They're typing, not speaking. Nobody can listen in, therefore it must be safe. I can't succinctly explain certificates, signed e-mail, triple DES, and reverse DNS to people who don't know how modems work. I tell them they can't trust the Internet sometimes. But I can't explain when to trust and when not to. So, they either have too much faith or too much suspicion. How can I say, "E-mail that looks like it's from me might be forged," and "Don't open e-mail that has such-and-such for a subject line," and expect them to go online at all?

As much as the tech elite likes to make fun of average Internet users -- including nontechnical corporate users -- average users don't live in straw huts and communicate with drums. Most have flush toilets, cell phones, satellite TV, and caller ID, and use them appropriately. They're buried in technology, most of which is -- as it all should be -- invisible. But computers need constant care to keep their users safe. And just to get this out of the way, it is not Microsoft's fault that the Internet is turning into a den of pickpockets. It isn't Gates' and Torvalds' duty to make the Net a safe place.

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