Attempts to thwart identity theft and fraud through technology advances are likely to prove counterproductive, a British academic warns.
Dr Emily Finch, of the University of East Anglia, said the introduction of Chip and PIN on credit cards and UK government plans to introduce identity card schemes will only encourage crooks to become more imaginative. She said there was no substitute for individual vigilance.
"There is a worrying assumption that advances in technology will provide the solution to identity theft whereas it is possible that they may actually aggravate the problem," Finch told the British Association science conference, Reuters reports.
Finch (something of the Clarice Starling of the Fens, it would seem) bases her warning on her interviews with convicted fraudsters on the likely impact of technology advances on criminal behaviour. "Studying the way that individuals disclose sensitive information would be far more valuable in preventing identity fraud than the evolution of technologically advanced but ultimately fallible measures to prevent misuse of personal information after it has been obtained," she added.
The conclusions Finch reaches parallel those of some security experts who warn government attempts to sell identity cards as a means to combat ID theft are misguided. These and other objections to the UK government's ID card plans were outlined in a London School of Economics' study involving more than 100 academics published in March.
source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/05/hi-tech_id_theft_cure_fallacy/ 5sep2005
The increased use of technology may actually make identity theft worse, according to research from the University of East Anglia.
In a speech at the BA Festival of Science on Wednesday 7 September criminologist Dr Emily Finch will report that human vigilance is the best bulwark against identity fraud, and that the increasing use of technology is taking humans out of the loop and making them less trustful of their own intuition.
Dr Finch will argue that studies of criminal behavior have shown that technological fixes like ID cards have little effect in cutting offending.
"There is a worrying assumption that advances in technology will provide the solution to identity theft, whereas it is possible that they may actually aggravate the problem," she said.
"Our research has shown that fraudsters are tenacious, merely adapting their strategies to circumvent new security measures rather than desisting from fraudulent behaviour.
"Studying the way that individuals disclose sensitive information would be far more valuable in preventing identity fraud than the evolution of technologically advanced, but ultimately fallible, measures to prevent the misuse of personal information after it has been obtained."
For example, those who use chip and Pin systems on credit and debit cards now have to contend with 'shoulder surfing' criminals who remember the four-digit code. But because the system is in place, retailers fail to check for personal information.
Dr Finch cited an unofficial experiment where she swapped cards and Pins with a male colleague. No-one noticed that the card was being used by someone of the wrong gender.
The disconnection that technology can bring is also a factor. Conversing with someone online means that people cannot see visual clues to their behaviour, making it easier to lie.
This is not the first time that accusations have been made about the likely ineffectiveness of ID card technology. Security experts, academics, analysts and politicians have all raised serious concerns about the possible impact of identity cards.
source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141845/identity-technology-aid-theft5sep2005
Chip and PIN technology and ID cards will make it easier for criminals to engage in fraud and identity theft instead of tackling the problem, according to a leading criminologist.
Dr Emily Finch, researcher at the University of East Anglia, claims checkout staff in shops are less vigilant about transactions because of new anti-fraud technology, such as chip and PIN cards, and that criminals are exploiting this.
Research carried out by the university found criminals are 'shoulder surfing' customers as they type in their PIN numbers at the checkout and then stealing the cards, or using a stolen card by pretending to be a confused customer who has forgotten their PIN number so they are allowed to sign the receipt instead.
Finch and one of her male colleagues conducted an experiment by seeing how often they could shoulder surf customers' PIN numbers at a checkout and found it was easy to do. They also swapped each others cards to pay for goods and yet were never challenged over using a card that obviously belonged to someone of the opposite sex.
"One of the things we found quite alarming was how much the human element has been taken out of point-of-sale transactions.
"Point-of-sale staff are told to look away when people put their PIN number in - so they don't check at all," she told The Guardian.
Criminals would also find ways around biometric ID cards by exploiting this trust in technology to detect fraudulent transactions, according to the research.
"So fraud is actually easier. There is very little vigilance at the point-of-sale any more. Fraudsters know this and they are taking advantage of it," she told the newspaper.
Finch, who also conducted a series of interviews with 'career' criminals for the research, said they are increasingly making fraudulent credit card applications by gathering personal information on victims from publicly available registers and by trawling through bins for discarded bills.
source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141845/identity-technology-aid-theft5sep2005
|
To
send us your comments, questions, and suggestions click
here |