Nov. 17, 2008
Stolen IDs Peddled In Murky Chatrooms
The Early Show: Thieves Put Millions Up For Bid Online Each Year
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Susan Koeppen and secuirty expert Tom Clement view chatroom pitching stolen identify information (CBS)
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Play CBS Video Video Identities Sold Online Someone's identity is stolen every 3 seconds and now they are being bought and sold in online chat rooms. Susan Koeppen reports.
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Interactive ID Theft See how you may be vulnerable, learn about new scams and get tips to protect your good name.
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News Tools Contact Susan Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen is ready to help you. Just e-mail her!
Crooks are making billions buying and selling identities, and most consumers have no idea their information is out there, up for sale.
In the underground world of identity theft, credit card, bank account and Social Security numbers are being bought and sold by thieves around the globe, reported Early Show Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen Monday in the first of a three-part series, "Early on the Case: Stolen Identities."
"(Through) the selling of (personal) information en masse, they can make millions of dollars in one transaction, in terms of who they go after. Really everybody is exposed," Tom Rusin, CEO of Affinion Group, told Koeppen. Affinion helps safeguard consumers' identities.
More than 8 million Americans fall victim to identity theft each year, and many don't know their information is being offered on the Internet in chatrooms run by criminals.
A credit card number alone could be worth about $1.50, Rusin says. A name, address and social security number? Probably between $10 and $12.
Affinion's Dan Clement took Koeppen inside several chatrooms.
"I can't believe this is going on," Koeppen remarked. "The average consumer has no idea that people are sitting at computers and doing this sort of thing."
"No," Clement replied. "It's like the commodities market. It's just a different commodity. It's not real commodities, it's people's personal information."
In one, he pointed to identity thieves, security companies like Affinion, and law enforcement. "Everybody in there is kind of a fly on the wall, watching to see what these guys (the thieves) are doing," Clement explained.
Pointing to one entry, Clement said full login info for a Wachovia account with $11,000 in it was up for grabs. The account, he said, was sure to be liquidated, without its owner having a clue it was happening.
Koeppen says they "found entire personal profiles for sale, including names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card information, Social Security numbers, even mothers' maiden names.
One such profile belonged to Kellie Griffin, a working mom from Shreveport, La., who was shocked when Koeppen clued her in.
"My jaw dropped when you told me why you were calling," Griffin told Koeppen.
Griffin says she spends hours a day working on her computer, but she has no idea how someone got so much of her information.
"It's amazing!" Griffin exclaimed.
Griffin says she thought she'd been doing everything right to protect herself, and now she wonders, "What else do they have? Do they know what I look like? Do they have a copy of my driver's license? I don't know what else they have, and I don't know what they've done with it."
In one of the chatrooms, Clement and Koeppen pretended to be a thief pitching two cards.
Within five minutes, the cards began getting some bites from would-be purchasers "checking it out. They're trying to see what the balance is on the card," Clement said.
And within 10 minutes, the balance on both cards was nearly depleted.
"It's like throwing tuna to the sharks," Clement said.
Koeppen and Clement even struck up a conversation with a scammer who had credit cards for sale.
"Shadow Girl" was trying to sell them credit cards for $6. But Clement "negotiated" and go her to offer four cards for $16.
To protect yourself, Koeppen says you could:
These chatrooms are usually overseas, Koeppen says, "so it's hard for law enforcement in the U.S. to crack down and shut them down. And these are sophisticated crooks. You shut one down, the pop up somewhere else."
Copyright MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The secrets of tennis legend 
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See all 24 Commentsidentity published on line had asked her if she
ever chatted on line with anyone. I am willing to
surmize the lady has chatted and may have encountered
scammers that got her information a little at a
time and the answer to her question if they know
what she looks like.
That answer would most likely be a "high" Yes.
had ever chatted on line. I am willing to bet she
has a myspace account and has talked to a few
scammers and they collected a little information
at a time until they had what they wanted.
ddaryl1"
Yep, no doubt, like the phone co selling your phone #''s and then charging you for a new unpublished number, anon block and caller ID to stop the sales calls.
I know for a fact from a friend that the anti virus software co''s ARE putting computer virus'' and worms out the back door- it keeps themselves in business. Isnt it an amazing coincidence they seem to have the fixes so fast- for a price!
If they can write an anti virus program they can also write a virus and I never believed it was just script kiddies doing it ALL just for "kicks", no, there''s MONEY behind it all and ones who make the money are the ones to suspect and examine- always.
This sounds like propaganda exaggeration, to make a compelling story
Posted by legacyABQ "
It didnt say that went for $10, there could be lots of reasons why someone might sell that for say $5,000 instead of taking the whole $11,000- for one- the seller may be in the USA and his IP and th transaction too easy to catch if he did it himself, but selling the info to some person in Russia outside US laws etc would be an easy $5,000 and there''s always bunches more out there to grab, it''s not like the one acct is the only one.
This sounds like propaganda exaggeration, to make a compelling story
The right to ultimate privacy is the right of everyone, not just law abiding citizens.
Many crooks get up and work long days to steal your information just like the rest of us work long days at regular jobs. Don%u2019t take that away.
Keep imperialistic, eavesdropping governments (all governments) out.
That is why your last 4 SS# digits are used as verification for so many things.
Similiar to the illegal drug trade, do you know how much is made because durgs are illegal. Lawyers make money, courts make money, and drug testing is an industry unto itself.
They like these illegal activities because they can use it to generate revenue.
It is entirely the fault of dumb legistlators and fools within the banking industry that this happens.
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