New-account identity
fraud takes a number of different forms. The most common form occurs
with credit card applications. Someone creates an
account using another person’s information and makes purchases to
the maximum limit, then allows the account to go into default. The
next most common type happens with new checking accounts. The fraudster opens up
a checking account using false identification credentials, then
deposits bad or bogus checks and quickly cashes out.
Identity theft is increasing. With it, the risk intensifies that
not only data but an individual’s privacy and reputation might be compromised.
This growing need for data security is one of the driving forces behind the Data
Protection Act. An individual’s identity arises in two ways: biologically
and socially. Biometric identity relates to things we inherit from our parents,
such as DNA, fingerprints and retina patterns. The chances of duplicate patterns
occuring are tiny. So, individually or in combination, these patterns determine
our identity with a very high degree of certainty.
This makes digitised biometric identity management interesting to state
agencies such as immigration, the police, the National Health Service, financial
institutions and others that need to determine an individual’s identity
accurately and quickly. Creating a social identity requires an authority to
accept liability for certifying that the person concerned is in fact the
individual they say they are. That requires a verifiable audit trail.
For instance,
parents register the birth of a
child and medical records should confirm the mother’s pregnancy and the child’s
birth. But only a match of the baby’s DNA with that of both its parents will
prove to a court a child’s identity and who his or her parents are.
Developments in identity management have led governments to seek to join
together an individual’s social and biometric identities. The aim is to provide
greater certainty about the authenticity of an identity
The only sure
way to protect individuals and
firms is to educate users. Users are to be sensitized on a regular basis on the
need of effective management of their Identities.