Identity Theft -- The Commodity of the Underground

My friend Carl Herberger me an article the other day regarding so called "revenge packages" being offered by a company whose web site is at confidentialaccess.com (the site has supposedly been changed since the article was written and denies everything stated). I had never seen the site prior to reading the story, but whether or not it is true the point behind the services that were allegedly offered are the more disturbing piece.

According to the article the site offered services by which for as little as $20 per month you could essentially make the life of someone that you don't like absolutely miserable. The article mentions services such as ruining your target's credit rating, or even having fake text messages sent to their significant other containing false accusations of affairs.

I heard on a radio commercial yesterday that someone's identity is stolen every 3 seconds. What I hadn't really considered until reading this article was that this type of criminal activity had now become a commodity.

Sure, there is an underground economy that buys and sells credit cards and bank accounts for a few dollars each, but that's not what I am referring to. Defrauding someone out of some cash because their credit card number was stolen is one thing. Money can be replaced. What is more disturbing here is the possible destruction of livelihoods and families by a neighbor who doesn't like how loud you play your stereo...or more disturbingly someone you have never met before.

I don't mean to sound naive about this, but I hope that this isn't a sign as to where else society will go. It's telling enough that we are already where we are, but it is truly more disturbing to think about what could be next...