Internet Identity Theft

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Internet Identity Theft Fraudulent Schemes

• John Cacavias
• Anita Lugonja
• Mike Messa
• Dan Zhanbekov

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Purpose

• To Educate Georgia Tech Students and Faculty of
  the dangers surrounding Internet Identity Theft
• Indicators
• How to protect / prevent
• What to do if victimized

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Outline

• What is Identity Theft?
• Internet Identity Theft
• Phishing
• Keylogging
• Pharming DNS Hijacking
• Fraudulent Activities
• Auction Schemes
• Business Schemes
• Investment Schemes
• Lottery Schemes
• Credit Card Schemes

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Identity

• The collective aspect of the set of
  characteristics by which a person is definitively
  recognizable or known
• What one has
• ID cards, credit cards
• What one knows
• Passwords, Birthday
• What one is
• Fingerprints, retina scans

5
Identity Theft

• The deliberate assumption of another person's
  identity, usually in order to gain access to
  ones personal information
• Internet is the most popular medium for Identity
  theft today
• Survey states 62 of Americans most worried about
  their identity being stolen over the internet

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Phishing

• sending an email to a user claiming to be a
  legitimate business to obtain private information
  for malicious use
• One of the most popular forms of Internet
  Identity Theft today
• In search of private information
• User name and password pairs
• Credit card numbers, social security numbers,
  etc.

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How Does it Work?

• User gets an email usually stating that their
  account is suspended, disabled, or asking for
  updated info.
• User is then directed to an imitation website
  with a form asking for private info.
• Once the user inputs private info., it is logged
  in a database

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Georgia Tech, a Prime Target?

• gt mailing addresses with random number/letter
  combinations perfect for spammers
• Phishing emails spammed to all combinations of
  gtxXXXx_at_mail.gatech.edu
• Should GT switch to another system?
• JCacavias, DZhanbekov, MMessa

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An Example
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The Fake Site
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Whats in the Background

• The Real URL
• http//usa.visa.com/track/dyredir.jsp?rDirlhttp/
  /200.251.251.10/.verified/
• WHOIS information (for IP 200.251.251.10)
• inetnum 200.251.251.0/26
• registrar registo.br, Brazil
• aut-num AS4230
• owner Fundação LHermitage
• responsible Marcelo Machado Gomes
• address Rua Doutor Camilo, 187,
• address 30240-090 - Belo Horizonte MG
• phone [phone]

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Keylogging

• A method of recording keyboard presses in order
  to obtain private information
• Very difficult to detect
• Once installed, information periodically sent to
  database server
• Allows hackers to sort and search information
• Rapidly growing threat in the last 5 years

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Keylogging
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Pharming

• Very similar to Phishing
• Also strives to attain personal information
• phishing with a net instead of a hook
• exploitation of a DNS servers
• redirects user to a counterfeit site which
  appears identical to legitimate sites

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Pharming

• Main vulnerability
• Quick quiz
• What site is http//130.207.165.120
• Answer www.gatech.edu

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How does it work?
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Pharming
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How do I protect Myself?

• The login process or information displayed will
  not look exactly like the legitimate site.
• Pharming sites will most likely ask for
  additional information such as social security
  numbers
• Look for SSL encryption
• make sure the browser has a lock icon
• Look for the https// prefix in the address bar

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Fraudulent Schemes

• Almost always sound Too good to be True
• Fraudulent Activities
• Auction Schemes
• Business Schemes
• Investment Schemes
• Lottery Schemes
• Credit Card Schemes

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Top 10 Frauds
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Auction Fraud

• Attempts to steal payments, etc. via online
  auction websites (most notably eBay)
• Most complaints out of all types of fraud 42
• 50 between ages of 20 and 40

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How do I Protect Myself?

• Use eBay Auction Checker
• Alerts from gumshoo
• - Seller
• - Location
• - Description
• - Shipping and Handling

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How do I protect Myself?

• Protect yourself with SquareTrade or PayPal
• Protect Yourself with Escrow
• Transaction Fee
• 0 - 5,000 3.25 (25.00
  min)
• 5,000.01 - 25,000 162.50 0.26
• 25,000.01 0.89

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Business Schemes

• Also known as work from home scams
• Promise to make you money AFTER you invest with
  some sort of start up fee
• Example
• Florida couple banned from selling work-at-home
  business opportunities

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How do I Protect Myself?

• Indicator Phrases
• working part time
• no experience necessary
• claims about proven concepts, newest
  technology, etc.
• Do your homework
• Check into companys background
• Qualifications
• Number of years in business
• References

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Investment Schemes

• Internet is a great tool for peddling investment
  scams
• Risk-free and get rich quick line
• Higher damage than other internet scams
• Examples
• Pump and Dump Scam
• Risk Free Fraud
• Off-Shore Fraud
• Pyramid schemes

The Boiler Room
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Famous Cases

• Pump and Dump, or Buy, Lie, and Sell High
• Pyramid

16 y.o. Jonathan Lebed made 800K in four months
by hyping stocks through email, message boards
and bulletins Gambino crime family members made
50M, defrauding the likes of Steffi Graf
(tennis) for 600K and Bryan Cox (NFL)
A web based virtual stock exchange where some
companies were promised to go up 10 monthly
Made 5.5M and was shut down by SEC
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How do I Protect Myself?

• Research the company that offers investments
• Watch out for words like
• Quick profits
• Share inside information
• "guarantee
• "as safe as a C.D.
• Check for SEC registration
• Disregard unsolicited email/newsgroup investment
  recommendations
• If you decide to invest, talk to companys
  supplier and other customers first

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Lottery Schemes

• Usually notifications come in an email
• If the user replies, another email is sent
  requesting sensitive information
• Often bank numbers are requested in order to
  send a wire transfer
• Three options are given to claim prize
• a) wire transfer
• b) set up a new bank account
• c) claim the prize in person

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Famous Cases

• Operation Nile
• 300 Nigerian men, tricked 20,000 people out of
  125M
• In a lottery scam primarily targeting North
  America

Gen. Abacha
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How do I Protect Myself?

• Playing lottery through email is a violation of
  Federal Law
• Probably didnt win if never purchased a ticket
• Be suspicious of upfront money requests and
  requests for personal information
• Check an online databases for your email letter
• Dont reply to the email

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Credit Card Schemes

• E-Commerce use has skyrocketed in the past 5
  years
• More online transactions than ever before
• Majority of credit card schemes start with
  identity theft
• A need exists to educate the public and to find
  means of identifying fraudulent transactions

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Methods and Cases

• A seemingly legitimate websites offers deep
  discounts on electronics, etc.
• Consumer buys something, then receives the
  product and is asked to send in the money order,
  or a check to pay for purchase
• Former graduate student in Florida, applied for
  174 credit cards with the names of his fellow
  students

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How do I Protect Myself?

• Protect your identify and dont give
• out credit card information
• Never purchase items from a non-secure site
• Validate the seller by calling, getting an
  address, referrals
• Be wary of sellers with free email accounts

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Conclusion

• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
• Always be cautious about providing sensitive
  information electronically
• Be sure to check URLs and e-mail reply addresses
  if you are at all suspicious
• Read the privacy policy of the site you are on
• Use browsers that support encryption

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Questions?