Introduction

I have stolen credit cards, hacked social security numbers, robbed banks, and created fake ATMs. I have broken into armed government facilities and have stolen from teenagers. I am an identity thief, but I am no criminal.

In the end, I have found there is little separation between attacking a corporation in New York City and targeting a housewife in Dover, Ohio.

Fortunately for all victims involved, I was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security, news agencies investigating security concerns, and other media outlets interested in knowing just how easy it is to commit identity theft. My job is to find security fl aws before the real criminals find them.

This book has been designed to give you the insight that most people experience only after becoming victims of identity theft. Each Truth walks you through a different type of attack, explaining the complete process in a simple and straightforward way.

Like a magician actually revealing what happens behind the curtain, I take you through the attacks to reveal how people at home, work, and on the road become victims. I identify tips on how to protect yourself, your office, and your children from becoming the next identity theft statistics.

Identity thieves can, and often do, use all the attacks against any type of target, regardless of whether they are after you in your home in the Midwest or if they are targeting you in your New York City office. While learning to think like an identity thief, you will begin to look at situations in an entirely new way. You might think twice about that preapproved credit card application that arrived in the mail, and you might keep a closer eye on that pest inspector who has spent just a little too much time walking around your office. Ultimately, this book opens your eyes to a world most people never knew existed.

There is no doubt that I have had to walk a fine line when performing the attacks that I outline in this book. On one hand, I am hired by organizations to conduct these tests; on the other hand, I am stealing the confidential information of millions of unsuspecting individuals. In the end, the information I steal ends up being far more secure than before I touched it, and the lessons learned have benefited hundreds of thousands of others in their efforts to avoid being the next identity theft victims. Of course, there have been engagements that were flat-out illegal. In those cases, the proper authorities were notified ahead of time, and although the attacks were real and unrehearsed, I had my “get out of jail free” paperwork.

In this day and age, what you don’t know is exactly what can hurt you. Identity thieves are out there, and their success often comes from innocent mistakes made by others.