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Friday, December 02, 2005Fraud and personation at the Tax Office closes Tax Credit Web Portal
 A mixture of personation and identity theft seems to have crippled the HM Revenue & Customs and specifically their web e-portal.Staff and applicant's identities have been compromised by organised crime in an attempt to defraud the tax credit system by making claims through the e-portal web site. A staggering £13Bn has been paid out by the system of which an unknown percentage is thought to have been fraudulently obtained in the last financial year alone. The Tax Credit System already discredited because of overpayments, amounting to £2.2Bn, is now in the serious trouble. We, with others, have been trying to persuade people about the risks within organisations around users and their access rights for ages. Managing the lifecycle of an individual identity; provisioning and de-provisioning through consistent and auditable management processes is crucial to maintain a secure and compliant information security system. We know organised crime is targeting individuals within enterprises and now it seems there is obvious and high profile evidence that is the case. It has been estimated that 1,500 civil servants have been the victims of identity theft by organised crime. The risks are from organised and well funded criminals not 'young hackers' or 'script kiddies' hiding away in some teenage bedsit. Related Links HMRC Statement Â? closure of tax credits portal The National Audit Office Online tax credit system closed : The BBC News Courion Identity Management Suite: Password Courier Courion Identity Management Suite: Profile Courier North East Fraud Forum East of Scotland Fraud Forum Tax credit website targeted by fraudsters 1,500 civil servants victims of tax credit ID theft : Andy McCue @ silicon.com posted by Robert Campbell 8:10 PM
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