Top techniques in identity theft 3 GRAMMAR passive (all forms);

it is said that..., he is thought to..., etc.

Identity theft is the illegal use of somebody else's personal information
in order to obtain money or credit. Victims of identity theft can face a Complete the text with the correct active or
financial and even legal problems in the future because an impostor passive form o f the verb in parentheses.
has used their personal information to purchase something or give
As a police officer, I was very upset when my
false information to the authorities. The best way of preventing
motorcycle 1 was taken (take) from outside
thieves from stealing your identity is to know how they operate. Here
my house last month. When I found out that over
are some of the most common identity theft techniques.
20 m otorcycles2_____________ (steal) in my area
in the previous six months, I promised m yself that
the thief w ould3_____________ (catch) and
4_____________ (punish). First, my colleagues and
15_____________ (question) all the victim s of the
the s a n d 6_____________ (visit) all the motorcycle
dealers in the area. Our investigations came to an
end late last night when we identified the criminal...
as my next-door neighbor!
H e 7_____________ (just arrest) and right now he
8_____________ (hold) at the local police station. His
c a s e 9_____________ (hear) in the County Courthouse
next week, and we all 10_____________ (expect) him
Phishing
to be found guilty. He m igh t11_____________ (give) a
You get an email that claims to be from a financial institution or other business asking
short prison sentence, but the best thing is that no
for some personal information from you. It contains a link to a web page where you
have to key in your bank username and password. The new page may look real but it is, more m otorcycles 12_____________ (steal) in my area
in fact, a fake. Identity thieves will take all of the information you give on the page and in the near future.
use it to steal money from your accounts.
b Rewrite the sentences.
Smishing 1 It is known that the drug dealer is a local man.
You get a text message that seems to require your immediate attention, for example: The drug dealer is known to be a local man.
"[Name of bank] confirms that you have bought a computer from [Name of retailer].
2 The blackmailer is understood to be a colleague
an automated voice response system asks you to confirm your credit card details. The of the victim.
text message is actually from a group of identity thieves who can create and use a It is understood that the blackmailer is a colleague
duplicate bank card within 30 minutes of obtaining the necessary informa on. o f the victim .
Vishing 3 It is expected that the man will be acquitted.
This occurs when you receive a phone call on your landline from someone who seems The m an_________________________________ .
to be trying to help you. The person claims to have detected fraudulent activity on
your credit card and asks you to confirm your credit card details. The call is actually 4 It is reported that kidnappers have taken the
from an identity thief who wants to use your card to purchase things for himself president's wife.
Kidnappers______________________________ .
Spoofing
5 The terrorists are thought to be in hiding
Hackers break into your computer and transfer communication from a legitimate website
to a fake one. For example, when you try to log into Facebook, your computer will take somewhere in France.
It is _____________________________________ .
will have access to plenty of details, such as your date of birth and the names of the
6 The suspect is known to be dangerous.
members of your family. Later, they can use this information to steal your identity.
It is_____________________________________ .
Spyware 7 It is reported that vandals have damaged the art
Spyware is a type of software used on the Internet to gather information about a gallery.
person or organization without their consent. Identity thieves often attach it to
downloadable files, such as online games. When you install the game, a hacker records Vandals__________________________________.
all your keystrokes, including things like credit card numbers or bank account logins. 8 The police are said to have arrested three men.
It is_____________________________________ .
Digging through your trash can
The trash can be a great source of personal information and in some cases, identity
thieves actually go through the garbage to see what they can find. Make sure you
completely destroy your old credit cards when it is time to dispose of them. As far as
official documents are concerned, you should put them all through a shredder or burn
them before you throw them out.
51