Journal Assignment One - ID Theft

I selected my article because it is a current event that should not have happened. It is important because corporations are still too lax and complacent when it comes to Information Systems Security. The things that really intrigued me about the article “Army of 950 identity thieves marched through Manhattan’ 2 commanders indicted” was the involvement of so many people in the theft, how well it was organized, how they were able to avoid law enforcement, the amount of the theft ($2 million), and that they got away with it for almost 16 months. They were able to steal right under the eyes of nearly every bank in Manhattan. Not only that, but they were able to steal from the New York Police Department. How can we be able to gain or win the trust of these major banks with our money when they are all not capable of taking identity theft seriously? They are not doing enough to implement strong security measures that can prevent identity theft or at least capture the theft as it is happening.
How can so many people get involved with this crime? Was their belief in the myth that they are not stealing from people but from big businesses that in their mind makes it all right? Are they thinking it is a white collar crime and they will get off easy? What is the harm in bank tellers stealing account information and giving it to someone else? Information is intangible and is not of any value to most people. Banks deal with billions of dollars so who is going to miss a couple of million?
These thefts by this very well organized army of thieves happened between February 2007 and February 2009. We are in the 21st century where we have advanced considerably in technology. So what happened? Back in the 60’s when the infamous Frank Abagnale (Depicted in movie “Catch Me If You Can”) passed bad checks totaling $2.5 million; it took law enforcement a while to capture him. At the time of Abagnale’s great bad check spree, our technology to help identify and track this type of fraud was nonexistent. It was very difficult and understandable that someone was able to easily get away with it. Today, because of so many technological advances, we have developed so many security tools that can be implemented to stop identity theft and bank fraud. From my perspective and from what I have learned so far, it is the management and human factor in employee personnel in these organizations who are not taking it seriously. They are not doing their homework, they are not seeking the right help, and they are certainly not paying attention to their employees.