Schubach, Michael. (2007, June 1). A Farewell to Arms, and Anything Else that Isn’t Properly Secured. Hospitality Upgrade.
http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=104
Bank robbers have gotten it easier with the advance of technology. It is now easier than ever to transfer money without permission. While it may seem obvious not to send personal information to emails begging for money or claiming to need to fix your username, many businesses are spreading their information recklessly. This information can be accessed and collected by possible thieves. In Moscow, a hacker will sell six Id’s with passwords for $350. First a robber will infect the internet with malware (malicious software), such as a Trojan horse. These programs must be able to overcome or confuse the protective software. These programs will now record every keystroke and send it to the robber. This thief can now log on to the website and enter the information given to him or her. Money can be withdrawn or transferred before the original owner even knew their information was stolen. These robbers find businessmen by posting on sites such as monster.com or careers.com.
Most people believe that their money will instantly be replaced. However, banks are not willing to do this until it is proven that the money was in fact stolen by another individual. Once the money is transferred to another country, many people must simply accept that they will not be getting it back.
“Mules” are used to transfer the money. They are the people who respond to the “make your money at home” ads. The robber has them receive and then transfer the money to an overseas location as quickly as possible. By time the FBI traces them, the money laundering plan has already been completed.
Unfortunately, these occurrences don’t affect the Russian government directly, so they are very unwilling to find a solution to the problem. Their citizens are not hurt through the transactions and the mafia remains active enough to avoid intervention with the police.
In order to avoid this issue, businessmen should use their own computers, making sure that the protective software is up-to-date and effective. Passwords should be changed daily to avoid the use of stolen Ids with accompanying passwords. Financial statements should also be read regularly to catch theft as soon as possible.
This was a very interesting article to read. Although we are always hearing about identity theft and the dangers of viruses stealing our information over the internet, it never occurred to me just how real this danger is. I was shocked a little worried to find out that there are sites where anybody can simply purchase Id’s and passwords for such a low price. Most financial accounts hold large sums of money that families and businesses solely rely on. If this money is stolen and transferred overseas, it would be devastating to learn that the sums cannot be recovered. Although I am always seeing commercials and ads about guaranteed replacement by banks, I was not aware that I had to be able to prove that I had not taken the money. This seems like a near impossible task if the money is stolen by an unknown robber over the internet and is transferred to another country where the government is not even willing to help the situation. The precautions listed in the last paragraph seem like too simple of a solution to thwart such sneaky thieves, however most people don’t even bother to follow those fast and simple steps. I personally know that I never change my password and I definitely don’t check my accounts regularly. After reading this article, I will definitely begin to take smarter steps in ensuring my account and information’s safety.
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3 comments:
I agree with both the article and Laura. We all think that we will get our money and identity back if either of them are ever stolen. But it seems much more likely that the individual will be forced to deal with the ramifications on their own. Proving that someone else stole your money, especially electronically is nearly impossible. So, therefore getting any sort of refund is also nearly impossible.
Hotel companies should really pay attention to articles like this one, because it illuminates the vast issue that security presents to both individual consumers as well as the business world. If individual businessmen and women are targets, think about the size of the bull’s eye that big business’ networks must have their mother boards. What I am saying is that all businesses, especially those taking large numbers of customer credit cards, like hotels, should pay attention to the security risks and invest the appropriate resources in protecting their networks and data. Password policy is just the tip of the iceberg.
I strongly agree with Laura and the author’s article. Personal information, credit card numbers, bank account information and etc … can be stolen easily through any kind of network. Both, consumers and hotels should check on security issues daily, to prevent it from hackers. Consumers should regularly check up on their bank account to find any discrepancy that could have been made through the internet (also with the credit card, any kind of electronic fund transfer and etc). Hotel property should also provide and invest in a high level of security to avoid any risk factors.
Recently, it was necessary for my dad to cancel our credit cards because of numerous unknown charges being placed on it. Thankfully, the credit card company was able to stop all charges before more money could be deducted from our account. I think all the advances in technology are very exciting, but it is also very scary. Technology allows companies to record and store so many various details about its consumers, which I find to be somewhat intrusive and unnecessary. It is also very scary to hear about the many incidents of identity theft that occur. That is why I think it is so important for companies, especially hotels, to devise ways of protecting its customers. I know PNC Bank just changed its website to include two layers of security. First, accountholders must sign in with their user Ids in order to navigate to the second �layer� of security, which includes typing in your password. If you are signing onto your PNC account on a computer other than your home computer, you must answer a security identification question. Since I have lost my debit card before, I feel better knowing that PNC is working on ways to protect its customers. Like Laura, I agree its important to constantly update your passwords so hackers are unable to steal Ids and passwords.
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