ID Theft Database Now Available
While looking at information about ID Theft, I came upon some articles and blogs that referrenced a new database that has been launched which allows people to see if their accounts have been compromised. According to a post by Matt Fisher,
A new service has been launched which claims to allow consumers to check whether they are the victim of ID theft. Called ‘StolenID Search’, the online website takes a credit card or social security number, then trawls its database of more than two million known compromised records to check for matches.This sounded kind of crazy to me. I noticed another post about this at a Netscape blog, so I decided to dig into it a little more to see what the skinny is on this database.
Basically, TrustedID is an identity thefy protection company based out of California. Another company which preys on the fears of people everywhere, these folks sell you peace of mind. To add to that assitance, they are now offering a database called 'StolenID Search', as was mentioned in Matt's blog. You can click on a link on TrustedID's website or follow this link. Input your social security number or a credit card number and the search will quicker tell you if that number has been listed as stolen or not. I input a false number to see what happened - there is no way in hell I would inut any of my real information - and the following message appeared:
Your social security number was not found by StolenID™ Search. However, to prevent identity theft, it is important to be aware of any future unauthorized use of your personal information.I see a few issues here but I want to keep this somewhat short. First, this seems to be an open database with no restrictions as to who can input numbers. Second, there are no measures in place to validate that the account number is yours. This means that ANYONE can input numbers that they happen upon, allowing possible identity theives the opportunity to see if a number they stole is on a list being watched. Also, if your account number was listed in this database, the likelihood is that the institution you have this account through is already aware of the fact your account has been breached. They would have, I hope, already contacted you and taken appropriate actions to protect you - afterall, the money at risk is ultimately theirs.StolenID Monitor makes it easy to stay ahead of identity thieves. We add tens of thousands of new pieces of stolen information every month. If we have knowledge that your information has been misused, you’ll be the first to know. Our secure service continuously monitors your information and alerts you via email if your information is compromised at a later date. We’ll monitor up to three pieces of data for free and alert you if a positive match is ever found.
Here is what I take from this, and I call it this loosely, "service": The main objective of this "search" is not to help people to find out if their account has been stolen. This is an awful ploy, in my opinion, to advertise the services of the parent company, TrustedID. The message that I recieved after inputting a bogus number is proof enough. They are trying to get people to check their accounts, see there is no breach of security and then hope that those poor souls will sign up with TrustedID for "protection".
Identity theft is something that worries everyone and if it does not worry you, it should. The fact is, if you protect your account numbers and information while being alert and doing due diligence to keep an eye out for oddities on your account statements, you should be OK. The people who really need to worry are the ones who ignore the issue, have no hesitation when asked to provide account or personal information, do not watch their statements, etc. These companies who are sprouting up all over and offering protection services to avoid your falling prey to ID Theft are, again in my opinion, taking advantage of the ill-informed, uneducated people in society. They are preying on people's fear and the hopes that the fear will supercede the rational part of the potential client's brain and that they will sign up for "protection" against the fear. Society needs to be more well-informed and not taken advantage of. To make a closing point, when insurance companies begin offering a new "service" with the marketing efforts seen lately promoting their new ID Theft policies, you know there is a social weakness they are looking to exploit. Insurers do not enter into a business where they do not have a guaranteed return coming.
My question: who is ripping off society more, the ID theives or the companies building businesses around supposedly protecting people from having their ID stolen? I doubt that there will be any figures released to compare this.
Your thoughts?