Identity Theft Suspected Powered by Limewire
As a follow up to a highly popular article
we posted in March, the Limewire file sharing
software is suspected again with a massive
identity theft case this time in Denver, CO.
It seems, 75 individuals and businesses
across America have their highly confidential
financial information exposed to three suspected
identity thieves who operated computers in an
Denver apartment.
Amongst the information retrieved by police
included:
- Tax Records
- Bank Account Data
- Online Bill Paying Records
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) millions
of computer users share files online every day using
file sharing software such as the popular Limewire.
"The potential harm to people is huge."
This is why, we suspect, the potential for a massive
identity theft exposure could occur from this Denver
incident as unsuspecting normal user safeguards
may have been breached.
Once breached, beyond just music and pictures, any
files on the unsuspecting user's computers
could be illegally accessed by hackers.
As in the case in Denver, the district attorney's
office issued a warning this past Friday they
believe the Limewire file sharing program had
been exploited to enable someone to illegally
access every file and document on computers
all across America.
So, our tip for today is to simply check if
your children may have installed any file
sharing software such as Limewire on
your computer. Also, even if you do not find
Limewire installed on your personal computer,
it's a prudent step to make sure your hard drive
or main document folders are not listed as
"shared"- especially if you utilize a persistent
internet connection such as DSL.
posted by agent99 @ 12:01 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
This is becoming more and more of a problem. I cant stress enough !!! Please be carefull with your computer !!!
OS9USER
Excellent reminder that no one is immune from identity theft....
There are chat keyloggers for parents, Kids Chatroom are out there, also, I might add restricting myspace.com , which seem's to be in the new's alot.
But there, is alot a parent can do. I am tracking this conversation, if you need something, and are not sure where to find it, let me know. (like : yahoo chat key logger , etc ) - OS9USER
The OS9 Users Room said...
"There are chat keyloggers for parents, Kids Chatroom are out there, also, I might add restricting myspace.com , which seem's to be in the new's alot."
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Thank you for your comments.
We would also add that you might consider the user of several anti virus/spyware screening tools to reduce the potential infections from malicious tools from being installed on your personal computer.
Additionally, some of the better name brand tools we've reviewed in the past even warn the user of security holes which may reside on your computer such as an "open share" folder that can be exploited by hackers even using seemingly innocent P2P software such as Limewire.
Additionally, installing a firewall for your computers and/or home network is strongly advised as well.
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