Online Identity Theft is rampant in today’s society. In 2008, almost 10 million people in the U.S. became victims of this crime. It is a quick and easy way for a thief to anonymously get a hold of your personal information. Most of these criminals are never caught, but the government has increased penalties to try and deter future identity thieves. We have talked about the do’s and don’ts of releasing private data and here is a perfect example of when not to get involved. This is an e-mail message recently received from COX INTERNET<[email protected]. It was titled Account Holder. Upon clicking on the message, the following contents appeared:
Account Holder
We have been monitoring this account through our server's log file
and noticed that this account is been accessed from different distinct
location simultaneously as against webmail policy, for security purpose
we will be shutting down this Account.
To retain access to this account kindly confirm owner's legitimacy by
filling out the outlined Information's below or your account will be
suspended within 72hours.
Username: ..............
Password: ..............
Location: .............
Failure to update this account within 72hours upon receipt of this warning
will be tantamount to losing this account permanently.
We apologize for any inconveniences concerned with this message.
Sincerely,
Tony Falano
Administrative Engineer
Cox Webmail 2012.
This is a common scam. It was sent out to an unknown number of Cox clients, with the hope of getting some to fall for it. It asks for your username, password and address. Once thieves gain access to this information, they can hack into your e-mail and other online accounts that use the same password. This is a common hook for online identity theft.
If you look closely at this memo, you will note that it contains words that are misspelled and there are a number of grammatical errors. Furthermore, large corporations like Cox would never send out an e-mail stating that they are going to shutdown your account without including a contact phone number to call and follow-up with. And, the letter was not on Cox letterhead and did not have any links back to the official Cox website. The reply to is [email protected], not a Cox e-mail address.
If you receive e-mail like this, you can report it to the company so that they are aware it is out there and to local police. At the very least, do not respond and delete it immediately.
The Identity Theft Act of 2004 increased the maximum penalty for identity theft from 3 years, up to 5 years in prison. If information is stolen through Phishing, 2 more years can be added to the sentence. In conjunction with jail time, courts are increasingly mandating that theft education classes be taken as part of the retribution as well. If you have been convicted of a crime and need to fulfill this obligation, take theft classes online. First, check to make sure that your particular jurisdiction will accept online classes. If so, they are available from any Internet based computer and be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This makes it convenient so you don’t have to miss work or school. The length of the course varies based on court requirements. Upon successfully passing the final exam, a certificate of completion is issued. This is the paperwork you need to prove you have taken the course.
