This article is from page 29 of the 2005-09-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
THE possibility of suffering identity theft 1s something that is increasingly worrying some people in Clare, and throughout the country. For busi- nesses, there is also the other side of the coin — how do they know that a customer is actually who he or she claims to be?
Some commentators says that the answer is new technology, such as systems that control access by fin- gerprints or pattern on the retina, or the now familiar chip and pin credit
cards.
Criminologist Emily Finch does not agree. She has carried out re- search at the University of East An- glia in the UK, and she says that it challenges the assumption that tech- nology-based security systems pro- vide the solution.
Moreover, Dr Finch claims that our increasing reliance on technology 1s in fact leading to a breakdown in the vigilance that people used to exer- cise.
“There is a worrying assumption that advances in technology will
provide the solution to identity theft, whereas it is possible that they may actually aggravate the problem,” said Dr Finch.
“Our research has shown that fraud- sters are tenacious, merely adapting their strategies to circumvent new security measures rather than desist- ing from fraudulent behaviour,’ she added.
“Studying the way that individuals disclose sensitive information would be far more valuable in preventing identity fraud than the evolution of technologically advanced but ulti-
mately fallible measures to prevent the misuse of personal information after it has been obtained.”
She points out that social interac- tion in a virtual environment such as an Internet chat room facilitates identity theft because normal visual cues that enables us to establish truth or deception are missing.
Her advice is that individuals should think carefully about the situ- ations in which personal information is divulged, and find effective ways of protecting themselves.
As well as being a Reader in Law
at the University of East Anglia, Dr Finch is a Director of 1871 Ltd, a specialist consultancy providing in- formation privacy and security ad- vice to individuals and industry.
Tomorrow, September 7, she will outline her new research on identity theft, and on the increasingly sensi- tive issue of introduction of identity cards in the UK.
This is something being watched carefully in Ireland, as we might have to follow suit given that we have a Common Travel Area with the UK.