The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

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Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

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Sunday, July 10, 2005

Drugs drive identity theft crimes

The Fresno Bee of California has an article on the connection between methampheatmine addiction and identity theft. The connection is interesting, apparently because meth addicts need money for their addictions and are well suited for the intensive search for personal information:

FresnoBee.com: Metro: Drugs drive identity theft crimes
"...Itheyus Murphy, a former meth addict now serving prison time for identity theft, said he spent many sleepless nights injecting meth and using his laptop computer to assume others' identities.
"When I got under the influence of meth, it was all about money," says Murphy, 26, of Fresno. "Get more money.
"With that drug, I would become a sociopath who would sit in front of the computer."
Murphy says meth addicts gravitate to identity theft because it's profitable and nonviolent: "They are more paranoid. They're more [likely] to do things on the creep. They're nonconfrontational. They don't want to do it face-to-face.
"Identity theft is something you can do from a distance. In their mind, they're further away from getting caught."
Murphy also says that he felt like meth made him more creative: "You're just multitasking. On meth, it's easy. It makes you think more thoughts at the same time."..."

A recent ID theft bust in Appalachia also showed a similar connection:

Major bust ties identity theft to methamphetamine - forsythnews.com
"...Adams said many of the credit card numbers were traded by members of the ring in exchange for drugs, mainly methamphetamine.
Said Moss, "This is a new trend we're seeing in the methamphetamine industry now -- they're diversifying."..."

Labels: identity theft, information breaches, laptop