Once the criminals have generated "money" from these dummy entities, track the payoff as much as possible to bust them. For instance, cryptocurrencies, the preferred payoff tool of criminals are increasingly being made trackable so I assume there's a whole high tech sector devoted to doing this sort of thing.
Even if you don't get them, you've wasted their time. Call it "chaff" like was used to obscure bomber formations from radar in WW2.
There would have to be extensive cooperation with credit agencies but if I were emperor, I'd be telling these debt profiteers: "You work with us to ferret out criminals or you take the loss, not the citizen victims of this criminal offshoot of your industry."
Be very surprised if this hasn't been done. If there actually is a law enforcement agency that serves the interests of the people like this I'd be very impressed.
If there is such a thing, doubt it would be advertised though.-- doctorremulac3, Mar 30 2022 Boy, about time somebody came up with the concept of an internet that could survive a nuclear war. https://www.vice.co...pocalyptic-internetAhem. [doctorremulac3, Mar 31 2022] Thank you a1. Both are applicable.
Personally, I'd assume this has probably been done, but if it hasn't, I'd ask why.
We should have a term for "Probably been baked but I can't find it."
Dough's in the pan?-- doctorremulac3, Mar 30 2022 There are only so many soc. sec numbers.-- RayfordSteele, Mar 30 2022 True, but each fake social security number could have other identifying factors fabricated to look legitimate.
Having thousands of fake personas associated with any one given number would be even better.-- doctorremulac3, Mar 30 2022 Yea, was aware, but like I said, it's not just social security numbers. Each number can have many other identifying factors associated with it.
These are fake individuals, their social security numbers are just one false identifying factor.
They'd have names, addresses, credit cards, social security numbers, relatives, bank account numbers, heck, even fake social media posts.
Point is, the quality of data can be impacted with infusion of incorrect data, and lots of it.
And there's no reason that this couldn't be ongoing. So one person is shown to be fake, in the time it took to establish that, a dozen more were created.-- doctorremulac3, Mar 30 2022 //420,000,000 social security numbers// That's not even close to enough for a population of 330 million. It means numbers must be recycled not long after some-one dies; which is an opening for fraud (which AFAIK is frequently done). What were they thinking in 1935; that the population (~125 mil back then) wouldn't grow?-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 30 2022 I actually might be a fake doc. I'm doctorremulac3 for a reason, there's a doctorremulac, a doctorremulac1 and doctorremulac2 someplace out there.
Plus there's that whole theory that we're just a simulation which I thought was dumb until I considered "So you don't think we'll be able to do simulated life forms where the entities don't know they're simulations in a few tens of thousands of years?" In which case they're just running the "doctorremulac3 program".
Doctorremulac3, 8th of 7, 2 fries, 21 quest, awful lot of numbers in these names, like an algorithm came up with 'em. Just sayin'.-- doctorremulac3, Mar 31 2022 If one soc sec number shows up multiple times it would be trivial to filter it out, so all numbers would have to be used.
How much time would it take for these companies to confuse you with a fake I wonder.-- RayfordSteele, Mar 31 2022 My real one would be filtered out as well. Good. But the legitimate companies wouldn't be using the dark web, they'd be using direct communication from me.
But however this is configured, fakes among lists of anything would take some measure of time to discern real from falsified impacting the efficiency of the process.
And it's cheap to do. Would it be ongoing? Yes. Would you have to continue working to outsmart them? Of course, but there's an inherent built in proficiency among good people vs evil. They've adopted a set of standards and ethics that require more work, more skill to achieve a desired outcome, with these high standards comes harder work and with that comes better proficiency. Criminals are people who decided all that work is too hard, they'll just steal stuff. Smarter people also tend to believe in justice and advancing civilization, not just being predatory. Building a better world is just more interesting.
Go ahead and take IQ tests of prisons vs MIT or Stanford. (Notice how I didn't say Harvard or Yale, that's a whole 'nother discussion.)
Case in point, WW2. Nazis came up with death camps, Americans came up with atom bombs that can level a city. (And a few years later thermonuclear bombs that can vaporize a city) I say engage the bad guys at every step. We're better than them, we're smarter than them and at the end of the day we'll win. It's that basic concept that's made the world GENERALLY move towards being more civilized. With glaring exceptions of course, but would you rather live now or at any other time in history?
Whatever the solution, I'd like to see more offensive moves against this sort of thing, bring the battle to the enemy, stop playing defense only. When my dad was alive I'd see him answer the phone on numerous occasions and have to tell the scammer he wasn't a dupe. He was on a list of old people so he was constantly being attacked. He was smart enough to not get taken, but old people are constant victims of these scumbags. I'd like to see these scumbags become victims of us for a change.-- doctorremulac3, Mar 31 2022 On the other hand, that might work too. Sure, might be some issues, but never know until you try.
Speaking of, see link for somebody coming up with the idea of an internet designed to stay on line in the event of nuclear war. Why didn't the inventors of ARPANET think of that? Oh wait...
Reminds me of a joke: "Forget everything you know about bread. Okay? Now let me introduce my new invention: Bread."-- doctorremulac3, Mar 31 2022 The "internet to survive war" is already started: the satellite networks of Starlink et al.-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 31 2022 Well, the internet was born of an idea to have a WW3 proof communications network. At the height of the Cold War, military commanders were seeking a computer communications system without a central core, with no headquarters or base of operations that could be attacked and destroyed by enemies thus blacking out the entire network in one fell swoop.
That's why American defense planners came up with ARPANET that was the precursor to the internet. The first "internet" message, that is, node to node communication was the word "LOGIN" sent from UCLA to Stanford. It crashed after the first two letters were sent.
Then a couple of guys from the east coast came up with the TCP/IP protocol and a guy from England came up with WWW and here we are today, using this incredible technology to talk about Cardi B's butt.-- doctorremulac3, Apr 02 2022 I'm showing my age.
I recall a "Buck Rogers" episode where he went undercover. His cover was blown. So he gave the Bad Guys another name, which had an extensive identity behind it. The Bad Guys, trusting that they finally knew who he was, went ahead and worked with him.
Meanwhile, when someone searched for that "other name," it triggered alarm bells within the government; the fact that someone searched for it meant they could track down who, within their organization, was working for the Bad Guys. So his undercover action helped them sniff out a mole. And, being Buck Rogers, he was (of course) successful in charming The Girl (a young Markie Post, in an eye-popping costume) and accomplishing his mission.
Not so much "chaff" as a "Trojan Horse." Various banks and credit card companies should be putting those out there, such that they can clearly identify when someone tries to use them and help recognize attempted fraud.
As you mention, though, "if there is such a thing, doubt it would be advertised."-- Meower68, Jul 02 2024 Yea, glad this came up. My wife's cousin just had to deal with this.
I'd add that the onus and responsibility for a fake scammed credit account has to be 100% on the creditor and that goes for cash accounts being hacked.
I gave you my money and you lost it, I don't care how.
Banks make money by doing absolutely nothing productive. I've used them to start businesses and yea yea, they do have their place but I'm so looking forward to the day we have a cashless society because all the busy work is automated. Then how will the people be oppressed? I'm sure the elites will figure something out.-- doctorremulac3, Jul 02 2024 I had forgotten about this. Wonder who I could team up with to get this actually done.-- doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2024 random, halfbakery