Text ID

Loosing your good name online

ALL IT TAKES IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, AND SOMEBODY CAN STEAL YOUR IDENTITY—AND THE NET'S MAKING^IT"EASIER FOR THE BAD GUYS

In just two days after leasing two expensive sport utility vehicles last spring, Kenneth Morse was finally stopped by a third dealership. Noting Morris's suspicious SUV-buying spree through a credit check, the New Jersey Mercedes dealer said no deal. It was a good thing, because the real Ken­neth Morse was more than 250 miles away pushing papers at his desk in upstate New York. With just his name and Social Security number, someone had hijacked Morse's credit-worthiness and was joy riding it for al. it was worth. The cops, who weren't mud help, knew enough to suspect he had given out his Social Security number somewhere online. The suspect was ultimately caught, and Morse's name was cleared—as best as he can tell. He still doesn't know exactly how it all happened. And he still drives his old Camry, a rusty beater with 160,000 miles.

Morse was a victim of the worst kind of pri­vacy violation—the theft of his identity. This alarming prospect is poised to be an increas­ingly common nightmare as the tendrils of the Internet take root even deeper in our daily lives. All it takes is your name and your Social Security number, and your identity can be plucked from you easier than a coat from a closet With Social Security numbers being used an account identifiers by financial-service firms, health care companies and motor vehicle departments—all of which are going online—it is becoming easier for impostors to put on your happy face. Once it's stolen, count on bureaucratic torture: a seemingly endless telephone and letter-writing campaign trying to atone for your alter ego's sins. Peter Neumann of the R&D firm SRI International calls identity theft the "hidden down side of computing."

The advent of e-commerce is inadvertently endangering privacy. Companies have long boasted about the efficiency, con­venience and personalized service that dis­tinguish commerce online. But that promise hinges on the merchants' intimate knowledge of their customers' tastes and be­havior. For starters, they know who their customers are, where they live and their credit-card numbers. And the more some­one buys, the more the seller finds out about him: likes bourbon and trash novels; sends someone not his wife flowers every Wednesday. Any Web-site operator can reconstruct a visitor's every move on his site: what pages he viewed, what information he entered and the Internet service he uses. Privacy advocates warn that most online companies won't fight subpoenas seek­ing access to those logs. "

Getting your identity stolen online isn't as unusual as you might think. Three weeks ago John Aravosis, a Washington, D.C., Internet consultant, logged onto AOL and found an e-mail warning that his account was involved in criminal activity in certain chat rooms. Realizing some­one had been logging into his account, he wanted to make sure AOL knew it wasn't him in the event any records became public. He began a weeklong lobbying effort, calling AOL, privacy groups and a senator's office. Ultimately, he found out that the "criminal" activity was software piracy, and he's still waiting for a letter from AOL that clears his name.

Aravosis says he never gave out his pass­word, nor did he download a malicious pro­gram, but AOL staffers suspect he did. Using AOL's Instant Messenger service, online cons can send a user a missive posing as an AOL employee who needs the user's password for some reason or another. "We are experiencing difficulties with our records... I need you to verify your logon password to me so that I can validate you as a user." If you don't fall for that ploy, you could become the unwitting victim of a "Trojan horse" program—an innocu­ously named e-mail attach­ment that stores your pass­word when you open it. The program then e-mails the in­formation to the perp.

So you have to be digitally vigilant. Guard your Social Security number as if it were the master key to your life, which it is. And plead with your insurance company and financial institution not to use the number as your ac­count ID (good luck).

Paranoid, maybe, but it could have saved William Bergau. In May 1998 the 35-year-old college recruiter and his wife had their wallets stolen from their car and returned the next day. But the thief kept checks and Bergau's Social Security card, which he used to obtain a fraudulent driver's license by telling he had lost the original. He successfully purchased goods and withdrew money. But the real problem hit Bergau when the pretender started getting arrested, under Bergau's name, for drunken driving, marijuana pos­session and grand-theft auto. A year after the theft, when Bergau was on vacation with his wife and kids in Arizona, thou­sands of miles from home, he was pulled over for speeding. "His" record—for driving under the influence—came up, and the cop wanted to lock him up. "The kids are in the van thinking Daddy's going to jail," he says. But Bergau explained the theft of his iden­tity and, after more letters and calls, he fi­nally got off the hook. He wasn't ensnared online, but the Internet makes his predica­ment more imaginable for the rest of us.

Now Bergau carries around a series of let­ters from agencies and the police explaining his plight. But the notes give him little com­fort: "I'm going to spend my whole life pick­ing up the pieces of this guy's dirty work." For him—and anybody whose identity is lifted in cyberspace—it's hard to see if he'll ever truly get his name back.

BY JARED

NEWSWEEK SEPTEMBER 20, 1999

Note:

· AOL = America-On-Line

Vocabulary:

lose* - терять
steal* - красть
identity card - удостоверение личности
lease - брать в аренду
high-end utlity vehicle
dealership - сделка
suspicious - подозрительный
SUV - камера видеозаписи
deal - сделка
hijack - ограбить а/м на дороге
worthiness - стоимость; возможность
cop - разг. полицейский
suspect - подозревать
rusty - ржавый
victim - жертва
violation - нарушение
theft - кража
alarming - тревожный
prospect - перспектива
increasingly - все в большей мере
common nightmare - общий кошмар
tendrils - бот. усики
take* roots - укореняться
closet - встроенный шкаф
account identifier - определитель счета
healthcare - здравоохранение
impostor - самозванец, мошенние
vehicle - средство передвижения, (любой) транспорт
put* on - здесь: присвоить
count on - рассчитывать на
torture - пытка
atone - заглаживать, возмещать
sin - грех
crook - разг. жулик, плут
cause - вызывать, быть причиной
criminal - преступник
lock onto - нацеливаться на
marriage liense - свидетельство о браке
county courеhouse - окружной суд
safeguard - охрана (в т.ч. и прибор)
compound - осложнять
advent - приход
inadvertently - нечаянно, непреднамеренно
endanger - подвергать опасности
boast - восхвалять, хвастаться
distinguish - различать
depend (on) - зависеть (от)
merchant - торговец, продавец
customer's taste - вкус клиента
for starters = first of all
advocate - защищать
warn - предостерегать
guru - инд. учитель
liken (to) - cравнивать (с)
VCR - видео
log - войти
involve - вовлекать
in the event - в случае
lobby - защищать (интересы)
effort - попытка
ultimately - в конечном итоге
piracy - пиратство
password - пароль
download - загружать
malicious - преднамеренный, злобный
staffer - staff member - сотрудник
thief - вор
missive - официальное послание
posing - ставящий (вопрос)
verify - проверять, удостоверять
validate - подтвердить
unwitting victim - невольная жертва
attachment - приложение
store - хранить
perp(etrator) - нарушитель, преступник
vigilant - бдительный
guard - охранять
master key - отмычка
plead - обращаться с просьбой
insurance - страховой
recruiter - тот, кто набирает (на службу)
wallet - кошелек
obtain - получать, добиваться
fraudulent -обманный, мошеннический
purchase - приобретать, покупать
goods - товары
withdrew* money - снимать сеньги
pretender - лже(кто-то)
possession - владение
grand-theft auto - крупный автоугон
pull over - разг.: задержать
driving under the influence
jail - амер.: тюрьма
speeding - превышение скорости
get* of the hook - разг.: снять с подозрения
plight - здесь: тяжелое положение
comfort - утешение
dirty - грязный
tip - совет, намек
protect - защищать
floodgate - шлюз(ные ворота)
guard - охранять
attachment - приложение
stranger - незнакомый человек
spread - распространять

WORD STUDY.

Ex. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents:

1. to give little comfort 2. to note smth. suspicious 3. to get off the hook 4. to make smth. easier 5. to seek access (to) 6. to catch a suspect 7. to take roots 8. to cause problems 9. to boast about efficiency 10. to suspect smb. of doing smth. 11. to steel one's identity card

a/ украсть удостоверение личности b/ приносить мало утешения c/ укореняться d/ искать доступ (к) e/ снять с подозрения f/ отмечать нечто подозрительное g/ подозрвать кого-то в совершении h/ вызывать проблемы i/ облегчить что-то j/ схватить подозреваемого k/ восхвалять эффективность

Ex. Match the words and phrases with their Russian equivalents:

1. password 2. no deal 3. under the influence 4. privacy violation 5. driving license 6. alarming prospect 7. unwitting victim 8. increasingly common 9. health care 10. in the event 11. criminal activity 12. alter ego 13. marriage license 14. widely used 15. county courthouse 16. customer's tastes

a/ "второе Я" b/ здравоохранение c/ вкусы клиетов d/ никакой сделки e/ под влиянием/воздействием f/ нарушение конфиденциальности g/ невольная жертва h/ окружной суд i/ пароль j/ в случае k/ водительские права l/ преступная деятельность m/ свидетельство о браке n/ настораживающая перспектива o/ широко используемый p/ все в большей мере присущий

Ex. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Однажды Кеннету Морсу было отказано в проведении сделки по кредитному чеку.

2. И хорошо, потому что настоящий К.Морс находился более чем в 200 милях от данного места.

3. Зная его имя и номер сертификата социального страхования, некто совершал крупные покупки от его имени (on his bahalf).

4. Полицейские, помощь которых была невелика, подозревали Кеннета в том, что он сам дал кому-то свой номер сертификата социального страхования.

5. Подозреваемого (преступника) в конце концов поймали, и имя Морса было "обелено".

6. Но он до сих пор не знает, как все это получилось.

7. К. Морс оказался жертвой наихудшего нарушения частной собственности/тайны (privacy).

8. Чтобы избежать подобных случаев, следует хранить в тайне (keep secret) номера всех ваших документов и никому не давать ваши документы.

Comprehension Check.

Ex. Answer the following questions:

1. Why was Kenneth Morse stopped by the New Jersey Mercedes dealer last spring?

2. What was real Kenneth Morse doing that time?

3. What was he suspected of?

4. Was he guilty (виновен)?

5. Is such theft common nowadays?

6. What can by done with a social security number?

7. What threat (угроза) is brought by the advent of e-commerce?

8. Can you give someone your password?

9. Is it easy to clean your name after your social security number was used by someone?

Topics to discuss.

1. Identity theft.

2. William Bergau's story.

3. Clearing your name.

4. Tips (советы/подсказки) to protect you online