Have They Defrauded You Now?

Verizon ends up in the top of the list of companies associated with consumer fraud. This is according to information gathered by the School of Law, Berkley California. The data was obtained from the FTC for he period 2006-07, the latest available. To be fair, lets make one thing clear — Verizon itself is not doing the defrauding.

In 2007, fraud events where the victim could identify the institution associated with the incident, were concentrated among a relatively small number of companies. Just ten companies accounted for 30% of events. Verizon was identified by victims more than any other company as being targeted by impostors to commit fraud. AFNI, a collections agency, was next in total number of events. Bank of America improved dramatically over its 2006 numbers, while ING Bank and American Express remained top performers among large institutions.

If Verizon is not doing the defrauding then how are they associated with those that are? Lack of caring in a sense. There are many ways to be a conduit. Social Engineering attacks are most preveleant. Party X says they are moving, gives new address which is theirs, promises to request disconnect at old address once moved. They receive the latest billing at the ‘new’ address. The thief now has all the data they need to scam like a bandit. The real phone holder won’t know for a month or more till the miss a billing cycle. By then it is too late. Open systems are another. We’re all human and even Sys Admins get tired and make mistakes. A system gets compromiszed on the DMZ and wham all sorts of data is disclosed. Gateway traffic in the clear is another. Having a laptop stolen that is not encrypted is another. 12000 laptops get stolen every WEEK in this country. Many carry sensitive data when they should not.

Keep one other item in mind. VZ has cut POTS network services to the bone. So there is not a lot of incentive right now to improve security in that area. Verizon is another of those companies that ‘take seriously’ (God I hate that line!) the missives that occur. The fact is they need to try harder. A trashed brand is a tough thing to get out of, ask Comcast.

Linky.