Dateline
NBC: To Catch an Identity Thief; Security in the Digital Age: Special Report |
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| Dateline NBC: To Catch
an Identity Thief; |
| Security in the Digital Age: Special Report |
| Published: Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 |
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| ...scoundrels and unassuming individuals involved. Although
Dateline’s report primarily focused on financial scams involving Americans, I think
it’s safe to say this problem is now global. Period. Consumer beware. The individuals
involved operate without regard to law, without government oversight, and on a scale so
massive and unique that there is no government agency or country large enough or with
proper jurisdiction to deal with the problem effectively. Dateline’s Chris Hansen
reported that the FBI is only able to deal effectively with roughly 1% of the
international identity crimes committed against Americans. This problem is now reaching
epidemic proportions globally, and with no end in sight. |
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So how do you protect yourself from identity theft? And how did Dateline, a global
independent and first-rate American news agency, unmask a sliver of the syndicate? I was
amazed at the resources deployed by Dateline to get at the heart of the problem. But more
importantly I was floored by the level of greed, selfishness and stupidity displayed by
some of our fellow Americans who were eager to aid and assist the criminal ring, which
appeared to be based out of Nigeria. |
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Nigeria, as you may already know, is the African country where many get-rich-quick emails
have originated, duping Americans as well as others globally into sending their
hard-earned money to some far-off land in hopes of collecting millions in return. Ok,
let’s wake up folks: NOONE IS HANDING OUT FREE MONEY ANYWHERE ON THIS PLANET. The day
someone starts handing out FREE money, I’ll be the first |
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| to report it to you—once I have gotten my fair share of course
(lol). |
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No, but really: some of the schemes presented in the Dateline report involved high-end
electronic purchases and other luxury items purchased from Internet sites with stolen
credit card numbers. Dateline was able to track down and highlight the scheme by setting
up its own |
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