身份盗窃防不胜防
Take precautionary measures against identity theft
来源: 大中报 南茜(Nancy Jin)
身份盗窃已是老生常谈的问题。骗徒会在你不知不觉的情况下盗窃你的身份信息（PII），然后从事从洗劫银行账户到掏空信用贷款等各种犯罪活动。
Identity theft is nothing new. Fraudsters steal your personal identity information (PII) and use it to engage in various criminal activities – from robbing your bank accounts to depleting your line of credit – all without your knowledge.
目前，随着被盗的个人信息成为网络市场中炙手可热的商品，身份盗窃已经日益演化为工业化运作。随着被盗信息的行为在暗网上挂牌出售，网络空间已经变成信用骗徒的避风港。
Identity theft has increasingly expanded into an industrial scale operation, as stolen personal information becomes coveted commodities in the online marketplace. For sales signs are popping up across the deep and dark net, and cyberspace has become an online haven for credit fraudsters.
但是，通过搜索引擎根本无法触及这些暗网。暗网的最初是由政治异见人士创立，旨在让不同政见人士匿名发表看法而得以逃避政府审查。但是现在，身份窃贼却可以在暗网上以低至50分的价格买卖身份信息。暗网的受害者遍及各行各业及世界各地，其中包括发现其银行账户出现未授权交易记录的凯蒂·尼古拉斯，以及一名其加拿大皇家银行（RBC）账户被不名身份窃贼洗劫三次的加国女性。
Dark net is inaccessible by search engines. It was initially created for political dissidents to communicate anonymously to evade government censorship, but now identity thieves can buy and sell PIIs for as little as 50 cents. Victims of the dark net are all over the place and across borders – from Katie Nicholas, who found unauthorized transactions in her bank account, to a Canadian woman whose account at RBC was looted three times by unknown identity thieves.
加国女性的银行噩梦
Canadian woman’s bank nightmare
据CBC报道，在2012年，一名骗徒在营业时间大摇大摆走进一家RBC分行，然后假冒一位名叫约翰斯顿的女储户并呈上伪造的身份证件，之后便从其账户中顺利取走大笔现金。
According to CBC, in 2012, a fraudster walked into an RBC branch during business hours pretending to be a woman named Johnston, presenting fake ID and was allowed to withdraw money from her account.
结果，约翰斯顿发现骗徒利用其信用贷款取走了$2.6万元现金。然而在一年后，又有骗徒走进奥克维尔市的RBC分行，并从约翰斯顿的个人账户中提取了数千元现金。据RBC称，冒名顶替者在取款时是使用含有约翰斯顿个人信息的驾照和公民卡。
The woman found out that $26,000 was withdrawn by the fraudster using her line of credit. One year later, someone had walked into an RBC bank in Oakville and took thousands from her personal account. According to RBC, the thief used a driver's license and a citizenship card with her information.
令人难以置信的是，同样的事情在去年12月又再度上演，这一次骗徒走进银行后从约翰斯顿的账户中取走近$7,000元现金。
And in December it happened again. This time the fraudster walked out with almost $7,000.
据约翰斯顿称，她是土生土长的加拿大人，并且钱包也从未失窃过。但是她的身份信息很可能是通过社交媒体遭暴露，并且已经在暗网上被倒卖数次。
According to Johnston, she was born in Canada and her wallet has never been stolen. But it is likely that her identity was stolen through social media and has been repeatedly sold on the dark net.
据网络安全专家称，一旦这些身份信息被拍上暗网，就再也无法挽回，并且会成为暗网上炙手可热的商品。
According to cyber security expert, once the information is out on the web, it won’t be destroyed and will become popular commodities on the network.
在2009年，加拿大反诈骗中心共收到11,095加国受害者的身份欺诈报告，损失总额超过$1000万元，远远高于2008年的$100万元。但尽管如此，还有许多身份盗窃和欺诈案例尚未报告。
In 2009, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received identity fraud reports from 11,095 Canadian victims, totaling a loss of more than 10 million dollars, up from $1 million dollars of the number in 2008. Still, many instances of identity theft and fraud go unreported.
自我保护措施至关重要
Taking self-protection actions
实际上，落入暗网的风险并不像你想的那么遥远。我自己可能就是此类犯罪的受害者。
The chances of falling for dark net victims are not as remote as you expect. I, myself might have become such a victim.
在几周前，我收到一个讨债公司的来信，要求我向医疗机构UHN-MSH 临床麻醉部(UHN-MSH Clinical Anaesthesia Associates)支付$1009.95元欠款。
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a collection agency, requesting me to make a payment of $1009.95 to a medical agency – UHN-MSH Clinical Anaesthesia Associates.
这封追讨信还威胁称，如果我在五日内不付款，就会将我告上小额钱债法庭。
The letter further threatens to take me to the Small Claims Court, if I don’t make the payment within 5 days.
我从未住过院，也从未欠过任何麻醉账单。我怀疑这是欺诈骗局并决定进行调查。
I’ve never been hospitalized, nor incurred any anaethesia bills. I suspected fraud and decided to investigate.
在经过调查后，我发现这果然是一个讨债骗局。讨债公司会使用各种粗暴手段对实际上并未欠债人士死缠烂打，以期通过威逼恐吓让弱势受害者屈服并向他们交纳所敲诈的款项。很显然，对方已经掌握了我的个人信息，其中包括我的全名和地址。
My investigation found that it was a debt collection scam. Debt collectors are using abusive tactics preying on vulnerable people who don’t even owe a penny, clinging on the hope that victims will succumb to threats and make demanded payments. Apparently, they had collected my personal information – including my full name and address.
因为怀疑自己已成为又一个暗网受害者，我立即采取措施以免更多损失，修改了数个包含敏感信息的账户密码。
Suspicious of becoming another dark net victim, I immediately took actions to avoid further damages. I’ve changed passwords on several accounts that contain sensitive information.
很幸运我的银行账户依然完好无损，我认为这都要归功于及时采取自我保护措施。预防永远是对付犯罪的最佳手段。
Luckily my bank account remains intact. I owe it to my prompt efforts to prevent further damages. Precaution is always the best way to deal with crime.
编注：本文曾在2015年3月《大中报》上发表。
Note: The story was published in Chinese News in March, 2015.
Identity theft is nothing new. Fraudsters steal your personal identity information (PII) and use it to engage in various criminal activities – from robbing your bank accounts to depleting your line of credit – all without your knowledge.
目前，随着被盗的个人信息成为网络市场中炙手可热的商品，身份盗窃已经日益演化为工业化运作。随着被盗信息的行为在暗网上挂牌出售，网络空间已经变成信用骗徒的避风港。
Identity theft has increasingly expanded into an industrial scale operation, as stolen personal information becomes coveted commodities in the online marketplace. For sales signs are popping up across the deep and dark net, and cyberspace has become an online haven for credit fraudsters.
但是，通过搜索引擎根本无法触及这些暗网。暗网的最初是由政治异见人士创立，旨在让不同政见人士匿名发表看法而得以逃避政府审查。但是现在，身份窃贼却可以在暗网上以低至50分的价格买卖身份信息。暗网的受害者遍及各行各业及世界各地，其中包括发现其银行账户出现未授权交易记录的凯蒂·尼古拉斯，以及一名其加拿大皇家银行（RBC）账户被不名身份窃贼洗劫三次的加国女性。
Dark net is inaccessible by search engines. It was initially created for political dissidents to communicate anonymously to evade government censorship, but now identity thieves can buy and sell PIIs for as little as 50 cents. Victims of the dark net are all over the place and across borders – from Katie Nicholas, who found unauthorized transactions in her bank account, to a Canadian woman whose account at RBC was looted three times by unknown identity thieves.
加国女性的银行噩梦
Canadian woman’s bank nightmare
据CBC报道，在2012年，一名骗徒在营业时间大摇大摆走进一家RBC分行，然后假冒一位名叫约翰斯顿的女储户并呈上伪造的身份证件，之后便从其账户中顺利取走大笔现金。
According to CBC, in 2012, a fraudster walked into an RBC branch during business hours pretending to be a woman named Johnston, presenting fake ID and was allowed to withdraw money from her account.
结果，约翰斯顿发现骗徒利用其信用贷款取走了$2.6万元现金。然而在一年后，又有骗徒走进奥克维尔市的RBC分行，并从约翰斯顿的个人账户中提取了数千元现金。据RBC称，冒名顶替者在取款时是使用含有约翰斯顿个人信息的驾照和公民卡。
The woman found out that $26,000 was withdrawn by the fraudster using her line of credit. One year later, someone had walked into an RBC bank in Oakville and took thousands from her personal account. According to RBC, the thief used a driver's license and a citizenship card with her information.
令人难以置信的是，同样的事情在去年12月又再度上演，这一次骗徒走进银行后从约翰斯顿的账户中取走近$7,000元现金。
And in December it happened again. This time the fraudster walked out with almost $7,000.
据约翰斯顿称，她是土生土长的加拿大人，并且钱包也从未失窃过。但是她的身份信息很可能是通过社交媒体遭暴露，并且已经在暗网上被倒卖数次。
According to Johnston, she was born in Canada and her wallet has never been stolen. But it is likely that her identity was stolen through social media and has been repeatedly sold on the dark net.
据网络安全专家称，一旦这些身份信息被拍上暗网，就再也无法挽回，并且会成为暗网上炙手可热的商品。
According to cyber security expert, once the information is out on the web, it won’t be destroyed and will become popular commodities on the network.
在2009年，加拿大反诈骗中心共收到11,095加国受害者的身份欺诈报告，损失总额超过$1000万元，远远高于2008年的$100万元。但尽管如此，还有许多身份盗窃和欺诈案例尚未报告。
In 2009, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received identity fraud reports from 11,095 Canadian victims, totaling a loss of more than 10 million dollars, up from $1 million dollars of the number in 2008. Still, many instances of identity theft and fraud go unreported.
自我保护措施至关重要
Taking self-protection actions
实际上，落入暗网的风险并不像你想的那么遥远。我自己可能就是此类犯罪的受害者。
The chances of falling for dark net victims are not as remote as you expect. I, myself might have become such a victim.
在几周前，我收到一个讨债公司的来信，要求我向医疗机构UHN-MSH 临床麻醉部(UHN-MSH Clinical Anaesthesia Associates)支付$1009.95元欠款。
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a collection agency, requesting me to make a payment of $1009.95 to a medical agency – UHN-MSH Clinical Anaesthesia Associates.
这封追讨信还威胁称，如果我在五日内不付款，就会将我告上小额钱债法庭。
The letter further threatens to take me to the Small Claims Court, if I don’t make the payment within 5 days.
我从未住过院，也从未欠过任何麻醉账单。我怀疑这是欺诈骗局并决定进行调查。
I’ve never been hospitalized, nor incurred any anaethesia bills. I suspected fraud and decided to investigate.
在经过调查后，我发现这果然是一个讨债骗局。讨债公司会使用各种粗暴手段对实际上并未欠债人士死缠烂打，以期通过威逼恐吓让弱势受害者屈服并向他们交纳所敲诈的款项。很显然，对方已经掌握了我的个人信息，其中包括我的全名和地址。
My investigation found that it was a debt collection scam. Debt collectors are using abusive tactics preying on vulnerable people who don’t even owe a penny, clinging on the hope that victims will succumb to threats and make demanded payments. Apparently, they had collected my personal information – including my full name and address.
因为怀疑自己已成为又一个暗网受害者，我立即采取措施以免更多损失，修改了数个包含敏感信息的账户密码。
Suspicious of becoming another dark net victim, I immediately took actions to avoid further damages. I’ve changed passwords on several accounts that contain sensitive information.
很幸运我的银行账户依然完好无损，我认为这都要归功于及时采取自我保护措施。预防永远是对付犯罪的最佳手段。
Luckily my bank account remains intact. I owe it to my prompt efforts to prevent further damages. Precaution is always the best way to deal with crime.
编注：本文曾在2015年3月《大中报》上发表。
Note: The story was published in Chinese News in March, 2015.
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