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Showing posts with label Child Identity Theft. Show all posts
Video Call
Child Identity Theft Cyber Crime Phishing Attacks Threat actors United States Video Call

Video Calling Apps Target Children

 

Eden Kamar, a Ph.D. student in cybersecurity at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Dr. C. Jordan Howell, a cybercrime specialist at the University of South Florida, collaborated to highlight the various methods that pedophiles prey on young children in the US. 

Howell explained that the team intended to understand how sexual predators first approach kids in chatrooms to start a dialogue before using devious means to gain their trust and record child porn. Around October 2021 and May 2022, the study was conducted.

The research started by developing a number of automated chatbots which never initiated a conversation and were set to only respond to users that identified as being at least 18 years old.

In 30 randomly chosen chatrooms for teenagers, the chatbots had roughly 1,000 conversations with potential pedophiles. Then, 38 percent of online predators emailed unwanted links, according to Howell. In text chats seen on public platforms, the bots asked predators for their "a/s/l"—age, sex, location—after which, once the bot identified herself as a 13 or 14-year-old female, the predators returned with a video link.

A surprising 41% of links went to Whereby, a competitor of Zoom that offers video and audio conferencing. According to the company's website, it was founded in Norway ten years ago and has worked with organizations like Spotify and Netflix.

Howell added that after exploring the company's website, the researchers discovered that Whereby permits users to manage other participants' webcams without their knowledge.

19% of the links contained malicious malware, and another 5% sent users to well-known phishing websites. Phishing sites are intended to obtain personal information, including home addresses, while malware sites can be used to remotely access a child's computer. Phishing attempts can also offer a predator access to a child's computer password, which can be used to log in and manage a camera from a distance.
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Hackers
Child Identity Theft Data Breach Email Fraud Fraud Hackers

Synthetic Identity Fraud: What Is It?

Frankenstein ID, the use of fake identities by scammers, has become prevalent over the last 12 to 18 months, with US financial institutions (FIs) reporting losses of $20 billion in 2021 as compared to $6 billion in 2016.

Synthetic Identity Fraud: What Is It? 

When a Social Security number is stolen, synthetic identity fraud occurs. Hackers then use it in conjunction with bits of accurate personal data obtained from various sources or entirely false information to build an identity in order to commit theft.

Synthetic identity theft is unknown, thus allowing fraudsters to carry out their crimes undetected. Researchers discovered that two out of every three American adults were extremely unaware of fake identity theft.

What is the Frequency of Child Identity Theft and Fraud?

In contrast to adults, stealing the identities of minors gives hackers a wider window to utilize the credentials since the majority of victims who had their identities taken as children do not become aware of the fraud until they are adults. Social media, personal health information, and school forms pose the greatest threats to data theft involving minors, which is a concern for nearly two-thirds of adults. 

SSNs can be found by hackers in different spots, like your email account or the database of your chosen merchant. Even student data is stolen and published on the dark web by ransomware groups. Hackers take SSNs to commit synthetic ID theft. As they are more likely to belong to minors, they favor numbers that were granted within the last 18 years. Children generally wait until they are 18 to apply for loans or credit, giving criminals ten or even fifteen years to cause havoc before anyone takes notice.

A hacker will start seeking credit online if they have a social security number. Users, then, simply build a credit history just by seeking credit. A creditor will eventually grant them a $500 or perhaps $1,000 credit line. A breakout occurs once hackers have access to $10,000 to $15,000 in credit. After a final flurry of charges, the attackers fade. 

86 % of parents do not check their kids' credit, so hackers can ruin it for years. Due to this, synthetic identity has severe repercussions that frequently prevent its young victims from beginning their adult lives. The fact that children lack control over their credit or financial information makes them vulnerable as well.


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Tax Fraud
Child Identity Theft Cyber Crime Data Theft New York Tax Fraud

New York tax Fraudster Sentenced to 12 years in Prison for Child Data Theft Ring

 

A court in the United States has sentenced New York resident Ariel Jimenez to 12 years in prison for stealing the identities of thousands of children on welfare and using those identities to falsely claim tax credits on behalf of his customers. 

The clients of Jimenez exploited the stolen identity data which included names, dates of birth, and social security numbers to add the children fraudulently as dependents on their tax returns to receive a refund when they filed their taxes. 

Ariel Jimenez, 38, of the Bronx, New York started the fraud ring in 2007 and is believed to have made millions of dollars. With the assistance of his co-conspirators, Jimenez began to sell the identities of hundreds of vulnerable children (siphoned by a New York City's Human Resources Administration fraud investigator) to thousands of people profiting from this fraudulent operation. 

"While working at the HRA, CW-1 obtained children's names and identifying information from the Welfare Management System and sold those names to [..] the defendant," court documents explained. The investigation by IRS-CI has revealed that the defendants engaged in large-scale identity theft and tax fraud schemes through which (a) identifying information of minors, including names, dates of birth, and SSNs, was obtained, including through payments to a corrupt New York City employee." 

The fraudster demanded a cash fee, on top of tax preparation charges, to "prepare and file tax returns that falsely claimed that the individual taxpayer had one or more minor dependents, to take fraudulent advantage of at least one tax credit, thereby inflating the refund paid to the taxpayer." 

He used the profits from his tax fraud operation to acquire millions of dollars of real estate and fund his lavish lifestyle. By his own admission, JIMENEZ spent more than $5.5 million to buy worldwide real estate, cars, jewelry, and in gambling. 

The defendant was first arrested in November 2018 along with multiple co-conspirators, including his sisters Evelin Jimenez and Ana Yessenia Jimenez. He was convicted in February this year of aggravated identity theft, fraud, and money laundering crimes following a two-week jury trial. 

The judge in charge of this case sentenced the fraudster to 12 years in prison on Monday and ordered him to pay $14M in damages, turn over numerous properties, and pay over $44M in restitution. 

"Ariel Jimenez's tax and identity theft crimes cruelly forced his victims to endure bureaucratic snafus and agonizing delays for their much-needed tax refunds," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated earlier this year in February. 

"Today's sentence holds Jimenez accountable for brazenly selling the identities of children to his customers for his own profit," Williams further added.
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Minor Safety
Child Identity Theft Cyber bullying Cyber Crime Cyber Safety Frauds Juvenile Minor Safety

Child Identity Fraud Costs Nearly $1 Billion per Year

 

On November 2, Javelin Strategy & Research published a new study that stated the yearly cost of child identity theft and fraud in the United States is estimated to be approximately $1 billion. 

Tracy Kitten, director of fraud & security at Javelin Strategy & Research, published the 2021 Child Identity Fraud research, which examined the variables that put children at the most risk of identity theft and fraud. The research examined habits, characteristics, and social media platforms as risk factors. 

Children who use Twitch (31%), Twitter (30%), and Facebook (25%), as per the survey, are most prone to have their personal information compromised in a data breach. Another significant result was that in the previous year, more than 1.25 million children in the United States were victims of identity theft and fraud. On average, the family spent more than $1,100 to resolve the matter, and it took a long time. 

Surprisingly, the survey indicated that over half of all child identity theft and fraud instances include children aged nine and under, with the majority of victims (70 percent) knowing their attackers.

Kitten added, “One of the most eye-opening findings from our research was just how much risk children are exposed to when they are not supervised online. Add to that nearly 90% of the households with internet access say they have children on social media, and the picture our findings paint quickly becomes dark, grim, and scary.” 

Criminals utilised social media to gain access to vulnerable minors, according to Kitten, a journalist and cybersecurity subject specialist. 

“Predators and cybercriminals lurk in the wings of all social media platforms, waiting for the moment to prey on overly trusting minors who may not fully understand safe online behaviour.” 

Families should limit and supervise children' usage of social media and messaging platforms, and be on the watch for cyber-bullying, according to Javelin. 

“Platforms that allow users to direct/private message (DM), friend, or follow other users via public search pose the greatest concern,” stated a company spokesperson. 

Parents were advised not to reveal their children's personal information on social media and to set a good example for their children by demonstrating safe online conduct.
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