December 2014 - Safr.me

Fear of Fraud trumps Terrorism

December 31, 2014/in fraud alert /by Robert Siciliano

Okay, what’s more likely? Getting bombed … or some punk racking up charges on your credit card?

The yearly Crime Poll says that two-thirds of the respondents were edgy about data breaches involving their credit cards, as well as their computer and smartphones getting hacked—far more so than being robbed or taken hostage.

It’s easier to thwart a mugger or burglar than it is to thwart cybercrime. Just because you never click links inside e-mail messages doesn’t mean a cybercriminal won’t still figure out a way to nab you.

Interestingly, many people who’ve been digitally victimized don’t even bother filing a police report, says the survey. But a much higher percentage of burglary and mugging victims will.

Maybe that’s because 1) They know it will be easier to catch the thug, and 2) It’s way more personal when a masked man jumps you on the street and hits you with a brick, versus some phantom from cyberspace whose body you never see, voice you never hear, hands you never feel—even though they drain your bank account dry.

But which would you rather have? An ER visit with a concussion and broken nose from the mugger, or a hacked credit card? The Fair Credit Billing Act allows you to dispute unauthorized charges on your card statement and get other things straightened out. And until you pay the whopping bill, your account isn’t robbed.But if someone hacks into your debit card, they can wipe out your checking account in a flash.

The good news is that often, cyberthieves test the waters of the stolen data by making initially small purchases…kind of like a would-be mugger feeling out a potential victim by initially asking her for the time or “accidentally” bumping into her.

A credit card can have varying levels of alerts that can notify the holder of suspicious activity. An example is a charge over $1,000 nets a text message to the holder about this. However, if you set a much lower threshold, you’ll know sooner that the data or card was stolen. Don’t wait till the thief makes a huge charge to be alerted. The lower that threshold, the sooner the card company will contact you and then initiate mitigation.

You know how to prepare for a mugger (pepper spray, self-defense lessons, etc.), but how do you protect your credit and debit cards?

Check your credit card statements thoroughly.
Don’t put off contacting the company over a suspicious charge.
All of your devices should require a password to log on.
Use encryption for all of your devices.
Always use your bank’s ATM, never a public kiosk.
Never let an employee take your card out of your sight.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

10 most prolific Serial Burglars…ever

December 30, 2014/in home security /by Robert Siciliano

Jack “Superthief” MacLean

MacLean stole in excess of $133 million in jewels, having robbed thousands of homes. By the time police nabbed him he was the owner of a helicopter and multi-million dollar mansion. His genius IQ failed to avoid his capture, but nevertheless, he was smart enough to have a police scanner with him during crimes.

He never destroyed property to gain entry; victims often didn’t even know they’d been robbed or blamed family members on the thefts. His capture resulted from having an accomplice who tried selling the loot on the open market.

Colton Harris-Moore

At seven Harris-Moore ran away from home and lived in the forest, though made excursions into residential areas to steal food. At 13 he was sentenced to three years but ran away, committing over a hundred burglaries, eventually upgrading his thefts to valuables like computers and cars. Harris-Moore even stole single-engine airplanes. Finally he was caught trying to steal a boat.

Madhukar Mohandas Prabhakar

Prabhakar has been at thievery for over 40 years, never leaving enough evidence to get a conviction. This millionaire lives in Pune, India, and steals to fund the poor.

Prabhakar carries out his burglaries by flying to Mumbai, locating a wealthy area and pinpoints at least five possible targets. He comes back later to break in, stealing gold or silver valuables that he melts somewhere else. He sells the loot and launders the money through his hotel business.

Anthony Spilotro

Spilotro got a burglary ring going with his brother and the Mafia, and became rich. Typically, the burglars would drill through the outside wall of a business, locate its safe and crack it. The money that was made by selling stolen goods was laundered through Spilotro’s hardware store business.

During another drilling, the gang found themselves surrounded by cops; many went to prison, forcing Spilotro to retire from burglaries. Somehow, he evaded conviction, but was eventually killed by Mafia associates who were fed up by his arrogance.

The Hillside Gang

In the past three years, this gang has ransacked at least 150 celebrity mansions in Beverly Hills. One gangster would climb onto the balcony to enter the second floor, then deactivate the alarm. The accomplices then entered. They located the safe, then cracked it offsite.

In 2010 some old safes were discovered that had DNA evidence—leading to the arrest and conviction of Troy Thomas. This ended the burglaries.

Blane David Nordahl

Nordahl stole silver from perhaps 150 homes, coming away with $3 million. Nordahl broke into homes by removing panes of glass, taking hours to silently achieve this to avoid setting off alarms. He’d get past sleeping dogs and avoided tripping motion detectors once inside, then disabled them.

Nordahl was even brazen enough to stick around outside, testing the loot for its value with a silver test kit. Finally he was caught stealing cutlery and is in prison.

Leonardo Notarbartolo

Jewelry heist specialist Notarbartolo’s MO was to “shop” at a jewelry store with a woman and take photos with a camera inside a ballpoint pen. Once a target was decided upon with his gang, he’d arrange ahead of time for fencing to sell the loot as fast as possible post-burglary.

During one robbery he left a partially eaten sandwich; DNA led to his arrest. He served time, but once free, seemingly returned to crime; a jewel stash was discovered in his BMW, but was eventually returned to him due to lack of evidence. He’s still free.

Bill Mason

Mason wrote a book, “Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief.” During the 1970s and ‘80s he pilfered celebrity apartments, ultimately stealing $35 million worth of jewelry. Using climbing skills, he scaled high-rise apartments. Mason analyzed ahead of time his targets, though gives the errors of his victims most of the credit for his success.

Ignacio Del Rio

Del Rio specialized in committing home burglaries, training in climbing techniques and studying lock picking. Del Rio’s plan involved first studying the target house, including occupancy habits of the residents. He’d then scale to the second floor balcony, pick a lock and deactivate the alarm.

Del Rio was a tidy burglar, cleaning up so that the residents wouldn’t know right away they’d been victimized. He was captured only when someone came upon his stolen loot, worth $16 million, at a storage facility.

Charles Peace

Peace, born in 1832, broke into thousands of homes. Peace was violent, having murdered at least a few people along the way. He spent days as a concert violinist, but come nightfall he’d rob expensive homes. One night the owners awakened and had their bulldog go after Peace. He delivered a fatal punch to the dog’s face, then fled. Finally, while robbing a mansion he was caught. At 47 he was executed at a prison.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Background Checks aren’t as easy as you’d think

December 29, 2014/in cyber crime /by Robert Siciliano

With seemingly more and more people being harassed, stalked and getting their identities stolen, the rate of background check requests (e.g., a small business owner hiring a private investigator) has increased quite a bit.

The background check is no longer some snoopy kind of thing for extra-curious people; it’s become a necessary tool in a world fraught with frivolous lawsuits but also cybercrime and identity theft. For example, if the “furnace guy” rapes and murders the homeowner, his company would be held accountable. We hear of cases like this all the time—another example would be a bus driver fondling a student. The bus company is held liable.

It’s a no-brainer that background checks should be conducted for people ranging from school officials, nannies and cafeteria workers to home health aides…you name it: all adult employees and volunteers. If you own a business, you’ll never regret getting a background check on your employees.

As crucial as this practice is, however, it’s full of land mines. But don’t let that stop you from acquiring a professional-grade background check to screen for criminality.

First off, the subject’s identity must be validated. But even if you have the correct name, the subject’s birthdate must also be correct. Usually, a photo ID will suffice. But when it’s not available, there are other methods. To see if the subject’s claimed name and DOB match, their driving record is pulled via the state DMV. But there again, we have a loophole: How do you know that the given name and DOB, that pops up in the DMV results, belongs to the subject?

A background check requires the SSN. When the SSN is run through, it will bring up a history of names and addresses, plus previous residential locations of the subject. We now can zero in on various locations to narrow down the investigation. If any aliases pop up, these too must be checked.

The third stop is the court record check in all the counties where the subject has resided in the past decade. The court’s website should have this information. However, it can also be obtained in person at the courthouse. The investigation will also include the federal court level.

The general criminal check comes next, and is often called a “nationwide” criminal check. It’s not 100 percent accurate but will turn up criminal history if, indeed, the subject is a crook. In addition, the state prison records need to be checked to see if the subject has served some time.

But zero results here don’t mean that the subject was never incarcerated, due to flaws in the search system. On the other hand, if a red flag appears, the investigator will know to dig deeper. To aid with this, the investigator should do an online search on the federal prison site.

The sex offender history is even tougher. Unfortunately in some states, a sex offender history can’t be used to refuse employment to someone. But this doesn’t mean that the investigator can’t investigate, including going straight to the affiliated court and then turning this information over to the individual wanting the background check. Sex offender checks usually turn up empty, but they should always be done.

The investigator should also search for arrest reports, but there’s no guarantee that the unveiled information can be legally presented to the client who hired the investigator.

And finally, is the subject wanted by the police? Historically, PIs were not privy to this information (it was available only to law enforcement). But fairly recently, PIs can now get ahold of this information, though the search process has flaws. Nevertheless, it should be done, especially since the fee is low.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

11 of the Biggest Home Security Mistakes

December 28, 2014/in home security /by Robert Siciliano

One type of mistake that you should never have to learn from involves home security. Don’t wait till something bad happens to you to learn a lesson. Here are the top mistakes that people make; learn about them here rather than from personal experience:

Leaving doors unlocked. Yes, leave your door unlocked often enough overnight, and a burglar will find it. They’re all out there, working their third shift while you’re asleep, jiggling hundreds of door knobs to find that one unlocked door. Yours will be next. Be smart and lock up! This also includes during the day and when you’re gone.
Penny pinching when it comes to locks. You get what you pay for. Don’t put a price tag on your home’s security.
If you have a house alarm, use it. It should always be on. Don’t make the excuse that you’ll forget to turn it off when you want to step outside to see a rainbow.
Keep the garage locked at all times.
Don’t leave ladders out. Don’t say, “I’m too tired; I’ll put it away tomorrow.” A burglar is never too tired to climb a ladder to your second story window.
Don’t hide keys near the door. Give the spare to a trusted neighbor.
Leaving windows open. Okay, so maybe you don’t have a fly or moth problem, but guess what else will come in: thieves. Lock windows even if you’ll be gone for “just a few minutes.”
Don’t post your vacation plans or adventures on Facebook, etc., until after you return.
Don’t leave intact boxes, that expensive items like flat screen TVs came in, outside for trash pickup. Break them down and stuff in a trash bag.
Make sure your valuables aren’t visible through windows.
Keep your house looking occupied at all times while you’re away: Have a neighbor collect your newspapers and mail; used automatic timed lighting devices (including outside at night); leave a kid’s bicycle lying by the front door, etc. Another way to give it that “lived in look” is with the BeOn proactive smart lighting home security system. Check it out.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BeOn Home Security discussing burglar proofing your home on NECN. Disclosures.

7 Careful Commerce tips when Shopping this Holiday Season

December 27, 2014/in Shopping /by Robert Siciliano

Frosty the Hackman is teaming up this season with the Grinch to scam people out of their money. Shopping online is a godsend, but it brings with it a pristine opportunity to be ripped off.

Avoid Phishing Scams. Never click on links inside e-mails even if they’re (allegedly!) from Macy’s, Kohl’s or some other big-name retailer. Scammers can easily make an e-mail appear legitimate. The e-mail inside the message may take you to a website that downloads a virus to your computer.
Thwart Visual Hackers. Planning on doing some online shopping on your lunch break? Some hackers steal data by literally snooping over the shopper’s shoulder and if your credit card number, social security or other personal identifiable information happens to be on display on screen, you will be at risk. If you couple the 3M company’s ePrivacy Filter with their 3M Privacy Filter, “visual hackers” won’t be able to see from side angles, and you’ll be alerted to those peering over your shoulder and from most other angles.
Do Your Research. If you want to buy from an unknown little retailer, hunt for reviews first. Be alert to phony reviews to make them look great; identical reviews across different sites are a bad sign. Check the Better Business Bureau’s rating for retailers you visit.
Be Wary of Free Wi-Fi While it might be tempting to double check your bank account balance or get some emails done while you’re waiting in line for the register, if you’re accessing an unencrypted network you are putting yourself and your personal information at risk for data theft.
Credit over Debit. If you get ripped off, the money is gone the second the card is used. At least with a credit card, you have some time to issue a dispute, and the card company will usually give you a full credit.
Review Your Credit Regularly. Since you’ll be using your credit cards more frequently during the holidays, it’s important to stay on top of your statements to make sure there are no fraudulent charges.
Mind your Passwords. To increase your security across the web, update your passwords during the holiday season in case one of your favorite retailers is hacked. Even if these sites are not infiltrated, right away consider changing your passwords across the board to better protect yourself down the road. And while it is annoying to remember different passwords, it’s important to very them for optimal protection.

Robert Siciliano is a Privacy Consultant to 3M discussing Identity Theft and Privacy on YouTube. Disclosures.

What is Ransomware?

December 27, 2014/in viruses /by Robert Siciliano

Imagine that you want to pull up a certain file on your computer. You click on the file and suddenly a notice flashes on your screen saying your computer has been compromised and in order to get your files back, you need to pay up some money. This, ladies and gentlemen, is ransomware, a nasty type of malware that, unfortunately, hackers love to use.

Ransomware is malicious software created by a hacker to restrict access to your device and demand a fee to be paid to the hacker in order to give you back access to your device. It can prevent you from using your computer or mobile device, opening your files, or running certain applications like your browser. Or it could lock down your photos, documents, videos on your mobile phone or PC and hold them hostage until you pay the ransom.

Users unknowingly download ransomware from malicious by clicking on email attachments or visiting infected websites, also known as drive-by downloads . There are several ways hackers use ransomware to extort money from users. One, the hackers pretend they are a law enforcement agency and claim that you have downloaded illegal content and demand a fine to pay for this violation. Another popular trick is a message that claims your Windows installation is counterfeit and requires activation or that your security software is out of date or not working.

If you download ransomware, you must remove it before you can access your device again. You can use security software or clean out your disk drive. If you have an Android phone, you can reboot your phone in Safe Mode. Whatever you do, don’t pay the ransom, as it doesn’t always guarantee you will get access to your device again.

It’s always better to prepare than repair. Here are a few tips for preventing ransomware from getting on your digital devices.

Backup your files. Then, if a ransomware attack occurs, you can wipe your disk drive clean and restore the data from the backup.
Think twice. Don’t open links or attachments from people you don’t know.
Use a web advisor. Hackers use malicious websites to spread ransomware. A web advisor, like McAfee® SiteAdvisor® will let you know what links are malicious or not.
Install comprehensive security software. McAfee LiveSafe™ service includes a firewall and anti-spam filter to protect your computers, mobile phones and tablets from ransomware. If you already have your computers covered, make sure you still protect your mobile devices with our free McAfee® Mobile Security for Android or iOS.

Have a happy holiday!

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked! Disclosures.

Protect your Data during Holiday Travel

December 26, 2014/in Phishing, spyware /by Robert Siciliano

You’re dreaming of a white Christmas, and hackers are dreaming of a green Christmas: your cash in their pockets. And hackers are everywhere, and are a particular threat to travelers.

Prior to leaving for your holiday vacation, have an IT specialist install a disk encryption on your laptop if you plan on bringing it along; the hard drive will have encryption software to scramble your data if the device it lost or stolen.
Try to make arrangements to prevent having to use your laptop to handle sensitive data. If you must, then at least store all the data in an encrypted memory stick or disk encryption as stated above. Leave as much personal data behind when you travel.
Before embarking on your vacation, make sure that your devices are equipped with comprehensive security software such as antivirus, antispyware, antiphishing and a firewall so that you can have safe online connections.
If your device has a virtual private network (VPN), this will encrypt all of your transmissions when you use public Wi-Fi. Hackers will see gibberish and thus won’t have any interest in you. Don’t ever connect to an unprotected Wi-Fi network!
Always have your laptop and other devices with you, even if it’s to momentarily leave the hotel’s lobby (where you’re using your device) to get some water. When staying at friends or family, don’t leave your devices where even other guests in the house you’re staying at can get to them, even if they’re kids. Just sayin’.
Add another layer of protection from “visual hackers,” too. Visual hackers peer over the user’s shoulder to see what’s on their screen. If they do this enough to enough people, sooner or later they’ll catch someone with their data up on the screen.
Visual hackers can also use cameras and binoculars to capture what’s on your screen. All these thieves need to do is just hang nearby nonchalantly with your computer screen in full view, and wait till you enter your data. They can then snap a picture of the view.
This can be deterred with 3M’s ePrivacy Filter, when combined with their 3M Privacy Filter. When a visual hacker tries to see what’s on your screen it provides up to 180 degree comprehensive privacy protection. Filters provide protection by blackening the screen when viewed from the side. Furthermore, you’ll get an alert that someone is creeping up too close to you. The one place where a visual hacker can really get an “in” on your online activities is on an airplane. Do you realize how easy it would be for someone sitting behind you (especially if you both have aisle seats) to see what you’re doing?

Robert Siciliano is a Privacy Consultant to 3M discussing Identity Theft and Privacy on YouTube. Disclosures.

Should You Use Near-Field Communications?

December 26, 2014/in iPhone GPS /by Robert Siciliano

Have you ever wondered what kind of superpower you’d have? I’ve always wanted to send messages and ideas with my mind to others. My dream can sort of come true with near-field communications (NFC).

You’ve might not have heard of NFC, but if you have a smartphone, there’s a good chance you’ve used it. If you have ever used Apple Pay or bumped your Galaxy smartphone with your buddy’s to send pictures, you have used NFC. By definition, NFC allows smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by bringing them close together, usually no more than a few inches or centimeters. It’s an exciting technology that has a lot of promise, but there are a few concerns too. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of NFC.

Pros

Convenient. In a busy digital world, people like transactions that are quick and easy. That is one of NFC’s greatest strengths. No more digging around a wallet or purse for a debit or credit card, all you need is your phone. The technology is intuitive—bring your phone close to the reader and a simple touch and bam! Transaction completed. Think about how much time that would save at coffee shops, grocery stores, etc.
Versatile. NFC can be used for many situations and in many different industries. In the future, NFC technology could allow you to use your phone to unlock your car, access public transportation, or launch applications depending on where you are (bedside table, work desk, etc.).
Safe. If your wallet is stolen, thieves immediately have access to your information. With a smartphone, your data can be protected by a password and/or PIN. But the biggest strength is that with NFC payment, retailers no longer have access to your credit card information.

Cons

Security. Although NFC technology is more secure than magnetic strip credit cards, there are still security concerns. As people use this technology to purchase items or access cars, there is more incentive for hackers to break into smartphones to steal financial and personal information.
Usability. NFC will only succeed if merchants and companies adopt it as the way of the mobile commerce future. Although the technology is consumer-friendly, it is expensive to purchase and install related equipment. And it still may take years before there are enough smartphone users for NFC to add enough value to merchants to implement.

NFC is a new and blossoming technology with lots of potential. Whether you decide to use it or not, there are always things you can do to keep your personal and financial information safe. For tips and ideas, check out Intel Security’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked! Disclosures.

The most prolific Serial Killer…ever

December 24, 2014/in home security ideas /by Robert Siciliano

Charles Cullen of New Jersey may have murdered up to 400 people, though around 35 murders have been confirmed. He’s currently serving a sentence of 127 years. As a nurse, he killed patients at the hospitals he worked at. A form or mercy killing as he believed his actions to be.

Unlike some serial killers who torture their victims, rape them and even have sex with the corpses, claiming “curiosity” or “fun” as the motives, Cullen claims he killed his victims to spare them from coding, which is dying as a result of cardiac or respiratory distress. His reasoning was he put them out of their misery first.

It’s not so much that Cullen didn’t want the patients to suffer. Instead, he told detectives he couldn’t stand to witness or even hear about resuscitation attempts. However, why was he a nurse in the first place, knowing that witnessing these events would be part of the job? Nut-job.

Nevertheless, this whack job also informed authorities that he indeed wanted to spare patients from suffering and perhaps prevent staff from keeping a vegetable alive after cardiac arrest damaged the brain. These motives are highly questionable because many of the victims were scheduled to be released from the hospital soon before they were killed (via drug overdoses).

Cullen admitted that each murder was a spontaneous event rather than a long, thought-out premeditation. He told authorities that much of his existence took place in a fog and that he lacked the memories of most of the killings. He said he couldn’t explain why he chose the particular victims. The killings spanned 16 years.

Arrest
On December 12, 2003, Cullen was arrested. A few days later he told detectives that he killed Rev. Florian Gall and tried to kill Jin Kyung Han, both hospital patients. He then told them he had killed up to 40 people.

In April 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty to murdering 13 patients via lethal injection. The reason he never got the death penalty was due to a plea agreement to cooperate with authorities. Not long after he pleaded guilty to several more murders.

At present, Cullen remains at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Cullen doesn’t quite fit the bill of a classic psychopath. He apparently didn’t use any prowess with cunning and manipulation to murder his victims. Rather, his crimes were sneaky, and the victims likely had no idea what was happening to them.

Psychopaths don’t act crazy, but on March 10, 2006, Cullen exhibited really weird behavior in a courtroom for a sentencing hearing. He was upset with Judge William H. Platt. Cullen kept telling the judge over a 30 minute period, “Your honor, you need to step down.” After the judge ordered that he have his mouth stuffed with cloth and duct-taped shut, Cullen continued muttering under the gagging.

A psychopath is not someone who’d want to give up a kidney to another person, especially if the sick person was as far removed as the brother of a former girlfriend would be. But in August 2006, Cullen gave up a kidney for the brother.

Cullen is the youngest of eight kids. When he was born, his father was 58, and the father died when Cullen was an infant. When he was a teenager, his mother died in a car wreck. Cullen reported that his childhood was awful, but it’s not clear just how, especially since the death of his mother devastated him (versus relieved him, which in that case, would indicate she had abused him).

A very disturbing element of all of this is that his homicidal rampage went undetected for so long, but that also, the various medical facilities Cullen worked at turned a blind eye when they did suspect him of harming patients.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Synthetic Identity Theft hard to detect

December 23, 2014/in Identity Theft /by Robert Siciliano

A criminal can do a lot with “only” your Social Security number, says a report from darkreading.com. Okay, so he doesn’t have the name that goes with the number. Big deal—he’ll just make one up to go with it! This is called synthetic identity theft.

And this crime has proven worthwhile for the crooks. Nowadays, there’s an increased risk for this crime, says a report by ID Analytics. This is because thieves exploit new SSN randomization practices, says Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, author of the report, and chief analytics and science officer for ID Analytics.

In 2011, the SS Administration began issuing the numbers randomly rather than by pattern to help protect against ID theft. This change has backfired because it trips up anti-fraud technology that’s supposed to spot when a number, that was issued a few years ago, is linked to a phony identity.

The implementation of chip-and-pin cards will fuel the risk and growth of synthetic ID theft. Chip-and-pin point-of-sale transactions will inspire ID theft specialists to figure out new fraud tactics. And they will. They always will. They’re not dumb.

The ID Analytics report says that this crime goes undetected for long stretches because there’s no specific consumer victim. Like, who’s Alekksandreya Puytwashrinjeku? Or, who’s John Smith? Alekksandreya will open up small accounts just to get some credit going under “her” name. The next step is to apply for a big loan—that will never be paid.

The long-term nature of undetection allows the criminal to generate increasingly larger credit limits when compared to the typical ID theft case, says Coggeshall.

As you can see, there’s no actual consumer victim, but instead, the victims are the banks, along with the companies that offer the products that are illegally obtained by the fraudsters. The U.S. government is also a victim. The report explains that over a time period of three years, nearly 1.4 percent of tax returns seemed to be synthetic, costing the government $20 million.

You don’t hear much, if at all, about synthetic ID theft, but the report also points out that a credit card issuer did an analysis and discovered that over a three year period, about two percent of the total application volume consisted of this type of crime.

Still, an identity that incorporates identity theft protection is less likely to be victimized and more secure. And synthetic identity theft can sometimes be detected by a protection service.