Quote Originally Posted by juntzo View Post
My cousin was recently a victim of identity theft and he had no idea how it happen. His credit score just suddenly made a nosedive! He found out when we went to get a loan for a new car. It was traced to credit cards that he did not apply for. The police are still investigating!

He thinks it has something to do with his online activities! Is that true?

For the internet and tech gurus, please enlighten us about cybercrime!
identity theft – identity theft is where the cyber criminal steals their victims identity and then transacts, usually via the Internet in the name of the victim. More often than not this will include and element of credit card fraud.

How did the culprit/s know his name and or account details when he did not apply for those cards? Perhaps, it is possible that his existing credit cards used in his online transactions were transacted in dubious web sites or whose information was "captured" while in transit.

Protection from cybercrime is not a one way street. Both the user and concerned agencies and financial institutions are responsible for the protection of identities and personal details. For example, before any large credit card transactions can be made, users can call and inform their credit card companies about the transaction. Or sometimes, credit card companies can hold large transactions first befire they can personally verify the identity and validity of the credit card user.

Be sure to transact only with legitimate (but how will you know one?) and secured web sites (those with httpS security protocols etc).