Man Jailed After Using LimeWire For ID Theft 241
angry tapir sends along this excerpt from PC World:
"A Seattle man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for using the LimeWire file-sharing service to lift personal information from computers across the US. The man, Frederick Wood, typed words like 'tax return' and 'account' into the LimeWire search box. That allowed him to find and access computers on the LimeWire network with shared folders that contained tax returns and bank account information. ... He used the information to open accounts, create identification cards and make purchases. 'Many of the victims are parents who don't realize that LimeWire is on their home computer,' [said Kathryn Warma of the US Attorney's Office]."
Re:Interesting (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't think getting data from a folder someone has publicly shared is wrong.
Around here, if you get an email by mistake (e.g. the wrong address was entered, or someone sent a private email to a work account which you are legally monitoring), you have no right to read it. You have to stop reading as soon as you realize that the email isn't for your eyes, and you have no right to share or use the information you received by mistake.
I think that analogy is quite close to the case of opening someone's Quicken file.
Got to agree (Score:4, Interesting)
the guy's sentence had nothing to do with limewire or even downloading. If he had downloaded said tax records for just a laugh, he would be free. He has been jailed for fraud pure and simple.
Don't we hate "X but on the internet" patent claims? Then why are "X with a very loose connection the internet" stories okay?
Re:how dumb (Score:5, Interesting)
Additionally, many households only have one computer. Mom and Dad use the computer sometimes, then little Susie gets on and installs Limewire, accepts all the defaults, and next thing you know, Mom and Dad's files are being shared with the world.
Or maybe the person is just clueless, and doesn't understand the concept of folders and directories. They want to share their music, their music is on the hard drive, they know the hard drive is C:, so that's what they share.
Really there are any number of reasons this could happen, either from sheer idiocy, to ignorance, to total accident. Back in the the day, 2001 or so, I used to search for things like "resume.doc", or random Windows DLLs, in Kazaa, then I knew who was sharing things they probably shouldn't. Then you could do "More files from this user," or whatever the option was, and come up with all kinds of interesting stuff. Never occured to me to search for tax returns, but then, I wasn't really trying to do anything malicious either. The point is that people sharing practically their entire hard drive, without even realising it, has been going on a long, long time.
Re:Crime was not accessing the data (Score:4, Interesting)
Which is why we have age-of-consent laws, and laws regarding the validity of contracts, and laws concerning disclosures and waivers... Because the (US at least) legal system does not believe that one can give uninformed permission or consent. (Not to mention that what you are doing here is blaming the victim.)
Re:how dumb (Score:5, Interesting)
I've posted on here a few times on this very topic, although I'm probably preaching to the choir. People are stupid like you wouldn't believe.
I've done this before, not for nefarious reasons but more as a proof-of-concept to convince myself that people really are this stupid.
Obviously I never did anything illegal – merely downloading the sensitive files isn't illegal AFAIK, since they're publicly sharing them (even if unknowingly). Attempting to log into someone's PayPal account (to see if the password had been changed or the account locked out) was probably somewhat borderline; I never tried to log into any of the credit or banking accounts. Most of the login details were no good, but I was able to log into people's e-mail accounts, several different instant messenger accounts, even a couple of RapidShare Premium accounts. (One e-mail account even appeared to be actively used – recent dates on messages, which I didn't read although I saw the subjects. As a gesture of helpfulness I sent an e-mail from the account to itself in which I informed them that their login details were being shared on LimeWire!)
So yes, this doesn't surprise me in the least.
Re:Outrageous! (Score:3, Interesting)
So maybe go with your own opinion and worry less about what other people think?
Sorry, between defending one illegal P2P activity (music "sharing") and condemning another (ID theft), it's hard to know what's what...
You've lumped violating copyright in with identity theft. In my view they're not even in the same ballpark, even though I do not personally participate in trafficking of files online.
You can say 'the law is the law' if you'd like, but if that's the case I'd like to know where my legal right to own slaves went. Unless of course it is possible for some laws to be right and some to be wrong.
But then, that would require taking a position that may or may not be popular, wouldn't it?
Re:Crime was not accessing the data (Score:4, Interesting)
Just because I leave my car unlocked with the keys in them doesn't mean you have been given permission to drive the car away. Now if someone naughty then puts a sign saying "free car" on it, and someone else drives it off, it should be a lesser charge (one should realize that to get the free car, some paperwork needs to done to transfer the ownership).
If I give you my credit card info it doesn't mean you can go around using it to do your online shopping.
I don't have the full details but another possibility is the "protected computer" is not necessarily the computer with limewire, it could be the _other_ computers (in banks etc) the guy accessed to commit fraud.
Re:how dumb (Score:4, Interesting)
You may have a point, but i still don't see how they could get their bank records , because , by default Limewire only shares the 'Shared folder' .
So , they either put their bank records in the Shared folder , or they changed the settings to include other folders.
What i mean to say is : Limewire already put effort into making sure you don't accidentally share files .
That being said , considering the amount of junk you get when typing 'tax return' , i must admire the persistence of the identity thief.
Re:Crime was not accessing the data (Score:5, Interesting)
Not always. Rural residents of the Dakotas will often winter in town. When they leave the country place, they may leave their house and cars unlocked and leave the keys in the car. The thought process is: Anybody who knocks on the door of this place in the middle of winter is in mortal danger. They certainly need shelter. They may need transportation.
Of course, over the last couple of decades with the rise of the cell phone, this sort of behavior has become far more rare. But back in the day, it was pretty common.
"And that concludes your trivia moment for today. Join us tomorrow for..."
Re:Outrageous! (Score:1, Interesting)
The only difference is that you justify one and not the other by claiming it's alright to infringe on the copyright of a large company
There, fixed that for you.
Please change the definition you have for the word "steal" you seem to be using it where it doesn't apply.
When taking money from someone or using their identity to obtain credit thereby ruining the victim's credit (see TFA) you are denying them access to something (money or credit).
When infringing on copyright you are NOT denying the copyright holder access to the original work.
(please note, this post makes no argument for or against copyright infringement, it merely points out the difference between intellectual and real property)
Re:Protected!? (Score:2, Interesting)
A protected computer is defined very precisely in the law:
(2) the term "protected computer" means a computer-
(A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
(B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;
In other words, your home computer is definitely NOT a 'protected computer'. Similarly, the computer that hosts /. is not protected.
The computers he was convicted of accessing without authorization were the computers at the banks, etc where he opened accounts. If he did ANY online transactions on those computers, he accessed without authorization, because any authorization he had was based on fraud.
Re:how dumb (Score:3, Interesting)
Along your theme, it's amazing how many cars have been brought to me in the last year by friends where a professional mechanic said it wasn't safe to drive, and presented with a quote of over $1,000 USD, just to find out that it was perfectly safe.
One in particular, I went item by item down the list of "repairs" only to find that it needed new spark plugs. The shop had completely overlooked the rack and pinion being worn beyond use (i.e., unsafe to drive), and the brakes leaking (i.e., unsafe to drive). They would have repaired their list, charged over $1,000, and handed back a death trap.
The real repairs were more than the value of the vehicle, and it now sits in a junk yard.
I've noticed that women are well targeted for these repairs, but it's not exclusive to them.
I went to have new tires mounted on my car. I generally do my own repairs, but I don't have a mounting nor balancing machine, so tires have to be done by a shop. I bring my own tires though. Last time I had two tires put on, they were very insistent that my front brakes were terribly worn. I thanked them for their advice, and picked up a new set of front pads on my way home ($35 vs $150). I did the front brakes at my leisure, just to find that the front pads weren't worn beyond 50%. Since I had already bought the pads, I went ahead and put the new ones on, and now the old worn pads (still 50% good) sit by my toolbox, in case someone needs them.
Shops love people saying "Fix whatever is wrong.". That's an open invitation to rape the customer. It's better to become aware of how your vehicle works, or make friends with someone who is honest. My friends will usually come to me first. Sometimes I'll send them back to the shop with the ok to do the work, but not usually. The last "urgent" brake job, I told the person to come back to me in 6 months or so, and I'd re-evaluate their brake condition. With all new parts (new pads, new rotors, per the shop quote), the price would have been $250 and a handshake. The shop wanted $1,500. I know they'll come back to me in 6 months because I'm honest.
My field is IT, but I've been working on cars for over 20 years. I don't charge for my work, but they always pay what they believe my time to have been worth, which has always been fair. It's a good way to make a few bucks on the weekends. :) It's not terribly regular work, but it's honest work for honest pay.