LifeLock.com Promo Code

Hackers Steal From Charity

August 22, 2008 – 9:23 am

Nowhere seems to be safe from identity thieves anymore, not even charities. Hackers recently breached the website of a charity in the United Kingdom called Aid to the Church in Need. They made off with the personal information of over 2,000 donors. Instead of using this information to open up credit lines, they had a much more creative method of stealing from these generous people. The thieves approached previous donors asking for more donations to the charity. Rather than supporting needy churches, any donations would be going to support criminal hackers.

After recovering from their state of shock, the leadership of the charity has issued warnings to other charities to take steps to prevent identity theft. While measures are often taken to safeguard the security of online transactions, it is nearly impossible to make a system that is fully hacker-proof. Any online transaction, even charitable donations, can lead to exposure to identity theft. 

Most of us are well aware of the dangers associated with online shopping, but few readily see the risk associated with charities. Just about any company that stores customer data can be hacked and exploited by identity thieves. Security measures are rising globally to keep up with hackers and identity thieves, but some companies just don’t have enough incentive to fully protect our identities. That’s why LifeLock works to protect identities that may have already fallen into the hands of identity thieves.

Tags: Charity, Hackers, LifeLock