My son pretended to be me to obtain information

[akania]

On the 20th of December my son on logged in an online gaming account of mine. He was able to do this as my laptop holds my account information, username and password stupidly in the history and suggestions. I understand this is my fault as my i need to update my security. He then proceeded to speak a customer service representitive to enquire how much money i had spent over the time i have had an account prentending to be me as he was concerned i was spending too much. Obviously security questions were asked, my mothers maiden name, which isnt hard as he is a member of my family and the last 4 digits of my debit card which is ridiculous as the information is on my deposits page.

Not only was the information inaccurate which has cause alot of problems between him, I and the rest of my family. He also asked for an excel spead sheet of my deposits and withdrawals to be sent to him, not my email address, his which it was.

I can appreciate that if someone has my account details then that is my fault but to send by account information to another party no matter who he is without ringing me or emailing me to confirm it is actually me thats asking for it has absolutely horrified me.

I would like this situation looked into and I would like an immediate response as to why even though it seemed as it was a request by me information of such a sensitive nature was offered up so easily without double checking with myself that i was actually asking for it especially as it was asked to be sent to a completely different email address. However I dont want to get him into trouble.

Can you let me know if what he has done is illegal or not?

[bluebottle]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Yes he has. And so has the online gaming site.

There have been glaring breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998. I would get onto this online gaming site immediately and give them a severe roasting. If the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) gets hold of them, they could be fined up to £500,000 for unauthorised disclosure of data, ineffective security arrangements and failing to maintain accurate records.

As for your son, he has obtained information by falsely misrepresenting that he was you. That, potentially, is Fraud by False Misrepresentation (Section 2, Fraud Act 2006) which carries a custodial sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment on conviction.

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Surely it is the son, not hte gaming site, whi has breached the DPA here and thus committed fraud. The gaming site asked security questions, presumably agreed with the OP on opening the account. It is the OP's responsibility to ensure passwords are kept safe, which quite clearly they were not (not having a go at you Akania, just stating the truth).

As the gaming site thought they were speaking with the account holder, they did as they were asked. I think you would find it very hard to prove any breach against them.

The son, of course, is a different matter completely and needs, IMO, to be called to account. It would be reasonable to involve the police, though I'm sure the OP would have a lecture from them over keeping personal information secure.

[wales01man]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

I must side with the online gaming company here,they asked security questions got the correct answers what else would they be expected to do ?
ask for a dna sample the fault lies with the OP who allowed the security info to be known to others

[bluebottle]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Surely it is the son, not hte gaming site, whi has breached the DPA here and thus committed fraud. The gaming site asked security questions, presumably agreed with the OP on opening the account. It is the OP's responsibility to ensure passwords are kept safe, which quite clearly they were not (not having a go at you Akania, just stating the truth).

As the gaming site thought they were speaking with the account holder, they did as they were asked. I think you would find it very hard to prove any breach against them.

The son, of course, is a different matter completely and needs, IMO, to be called to account. It would be reasonable to involve the police, though I'm sure the OP would have a lecture from them over keeping personal information secure.

The reality is that the gaming site would have to explain to the ICO why the information they hold is inaccurate. Failure to Maintain Accurate Data is an offence a lot of data controllers get caught on. They would also have to convince the ICO they had taken all possible steps to protect the OP's personal data. A swift and well-aimed boot up the arse is what the OP's son needs. The OP also needs to change his security settings asap.

[akania]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Ok well as much as I want to rip the gamings site head off (and yes i agree that the security information should have been better protected by myself) i dont want to do it if my son will be prosecuted. Im also furious that they agreed to send the information to another email address, not mine. I want to put in a complaint but is it the site that will prosecute my son if i do this? Or is it up to me to prosecute?

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

The reality is that the gaming site would have to explain to the ICO why the information they hold is inaccurate. Failure to Maintain Accurate Data is an offence a lot of data controllers get caught on. They would also have to convince the ICO they had taken all possible steps to protect the OP's personal data. A swift and well-aimed boot up the arse is what the OP's son needs. The OP also needs to change his security settings asap.

Indeed it is the fourth data principle from memory. However, I'm unsure in what way the data was inaccurate. I thought the gaming site had taken the son through security (agreed, this could and probably should be tighter, but it is law compliant). Totally agree about the son - Akania, looks like you can treat yourself to some nice new boots!

[akania]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Lol

what I needed some advice on though is if I log a complaint with the gaming company can they prosecute my son?

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

I think it would be for you to prosecute using the gaming company as a witness. Alternatively, it is fraud, but persuading the police to do anything more than telling your son he's a bit of a naughty boy would, IMO, be extremely difficult.

[MissFM]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

I think it would be for you to prosecute using the gaming company as a witness. Alternatively, it is fraud, but persuading the police to do anything more than telling your son he's a bit of a naughty boy would, IMO, be extremely difficult.

Please correct if wrong Akania but it seems you are saying that, although you would like the gaming company to feel the full fury of your wrath and your son to be given a serious smack botty, you do not want there to be any possibility of your son being prosecuted for his actions by the Gaming Company or by the police?

Labman - in theory, could the gaming site bring a prosecution (inc getting the police to prosecute), or not, if Akanai logs a complaint inc taking that complaint to the limits?

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

I wouldn't imagine so. The gaming company has no cause to try to prosecute the son, and it's hard to think of any grounds which are provable whereby they could. I'm no expert in criminal matters, and the one which is technically possible would be misrepresentation as my best guess, but I think it far more likely the OP would need to pursue it. If the complaint were pursued with the gaming site, on what grounds would the complaint be made though?

[MissFM]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

lax security for personal details, wrongful disclosure of personal info., wrong email address, etc.?

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

lax security for personal details - but law compliant I would imagine.

wrongful disclosure of personal info. - the son had successfully passed the seurity questions, so it was reasonable to disclose the information.

wrong email address - this was done at the request of the OP as far as the gaming site were concerned. They didn't know the person they were dealing with was someone else acting fraudulently.

It is difficult for me to see any grounds which would hold water, though I'm happy, as always, to be corrected.

[MissFM]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

Thanks Labman. Removes any doubt. What's an OP BTW? (Further abysms of ignorance exposed)

[labman]

Re: My son pretended to be me to obtain information

OP --------> Original Poster (the person who started the thread).