Title: Online ID theft techniques, investigation and response

Authors: Olga Angelopoulou, Paula Thomas, Konstantinos Xynos, Theodore Tryfonas

Addresses: Information Security Research Group, Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UK. ' Information Security Research Group, Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UK. ' Information Security Research Group, Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UK. ' Information Security Research Group, Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UK

Abstract: ID theft, especially in its online form, is currently one of the most prevalent types of computer crime. The limited end-user awareness as well as the retention and business processing of large amounts of personal data in a manner that does not meet security and regulatory requirements provide plenty of opportunities to fraudsters. A number of organisations have produced guidelines of good practice targeted to individuals and organisations; however the matter is still on the rise. In this paper, we review computer-based techniques employed by fraudsters in order to steal IDs and refer to published guidelines and the documented good practice against those. We discuss the issues related to the investigation of such incidents and provide the grounds for the development of a framework to assist in their forensic examination.

Keywords: e-crime; cyber crime; online ID theft; incident investigation; digital evidence; computer forensics; electronic security; e-security; identification theft; fraud; digital forensics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESDF.2007.013594

International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.76 - 88

Published online: 09 May 2007 *

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