Online retailers and technology companies, including
Microsoft, eBay and Amazon.com, have teamed up to fight online
identity fraud.
The Coalition on Online Identity Fraud was launched on Tuesday
by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) IT
industry trade group, which will act as the coalition's
secretariat.
Public education campaigns are needed to educate consumers,
while technical and self-help solutions are needed to prevent and
deal with the crime, the ITAA said. The companies in the coalition
will share and document information on cybercrimes to stay ahead
of the latest type of criminal activity.
The Business Software Alliance, a founding member of the
coalition, sees this as a priority area for the whole industry,
said Shannon Kellogg, director of security policy.
"We have two messages. It's important to highlight the issue,
and also to make suggestions that help consumers to empower
themselves with the technologies that are out there," he added.
Most identity theft still comes from offline sources, including
personal information thrown away by consumers. That information can
then be used in scams to get further personal information, such as
passwords and social security numbers, and to buy products or apply
for loans. The coalition is keen to stop the spread of the problem
into e-commerce.
"We expect a report to be released by the US Federal Trade
Commission this week, showing a strong increase in identity theft,
both physical and online. The data I've seen shows that the
physical problem is enormous but you bet we're concerned about
online too," Kellogg said.
The coalition will push the US government for effective
enforcement and penalties against criminals, and will work with
government agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, the US
Department of Justice and other federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies.
While the coalition is US-focused, the companies involved are
global and will recognise that identity theft is a global problem,
Kellogg said.
The founding members of the coalition are Microsoft, eBay,
Amazon.com and the ITAA, plus the Business Software Alliance,
Cyveillance, McAfee Security, RSA Security,TechNet, Verisign, Visa
USA, WholeSecurity and Zone Labs.
Gillian Law writes for IDG News Service