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Symantec Reports on Internet Threats--Your Identity at Risk

Posted on Mar 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala

Symantec released its Internet Security Threat Report and it includes information about how hackers are selling personal data including complete “identities” for under $20. Infoworld has the story.

The data is sold on so-called "underground economy servers," used by criminal organizations to hawk information they've captured through hacking, Symantec said in its Internet Security Threat Report, which tracked online trends from June to December 2006. The information can then be used for identity scams such as opening a bank account in a false name.

U.S.-based credit cards with a card verification number were available for between $1 to $6, while an identity -- including a U.S. bank account, credit card, date of birth, and government-issued identification number -- was available for between $14 to $18," the report said.

Symantec also has a video that shows how a virus attacks a PC through a Microsoft Word attachment.