When it comes to identity theft we believed all was already done. Well, Gregory Kopiloff, from Seattle, proved us wrong when he used a new scheme by using the Lime Wire peer to peer file sharing software. Through the software he got access to credit reports, bank statements, student financial aid applications and tax returns from hundreds of computers around USA. Kopiloff would then use that information to open credit accounts over the Internet and use the money to buy goods and ship them to different mailboxes in the Puget Sound area. He would then resell the merchandise for half the price. By using this scheme Gregory Kopiloff racked up around $70,000 and stole 80 identities. Jeffrey Sullivan, US Attorney, declared:

“Law enforcement has known for some time that criminals are exploiting peer-to-peer file sharing to secretly gain remote access to victims’ computers to search for personal information.”

Gregory Kopiloff now faces a possible 20 years in jail sentence and a $250,000 fine. The problem with the software itself seems to be improper configuration. Users that shared their computers accidentally configured Lime Wire in a bad way that exposed directories containing the stolen information. Let this be a lesson! Be more careful with you data!