Identity theft has recently become an increasing concern. Identity thieves attempt to acquire sensitive private information about individuals in order to impersonate them and steal their identities. With sensitive information in hand, identity thieves may, among many other activities, sign up for credit lines, get credit cards issued, take out loans, get cash advances—all in the name of a victim. Sensitive information may come in many forms. For example, sensitive information may include a social security number, an address, a birthday, a place of birth, a mother's maiden name, an account number, a password, and a personal identification number (PINs).
Identity thieves practice their trade in a variety of ways, including everything from hacking into private and corporate computers, sniffing the Internet for sensitive information, and shoulder surfing. Shoulder surfing is accomplished by standing behind a victim and watching the victim enter sensitive information. Victims may attempt to shield their keystrokes when they see someone standing behind them, but this often gives limited protection.
With the advent of new portable technologies, identity thieves are finding it easier to steal identities. Cellular phone cameras and portable information devices are being employed by identity thieves to capture transactions at communication terminals in public locations. Where shoulder surfing used to require a person to stand directly behind or very close to a person at a terminal in order to visually see the transaction, these new devices allow shoulder surfers to be more remotely located and still gain access to sensitive information. A victim of identity theft may not even realize that a thief is stealing his or her identity because of remote and seemingly random nature of movement by the thief.
When a user at a public terminal attempts to access or enter sensitive information by way of a bank machine or public internet terminal, it may be very difficult to detect a lurking thief. Further, identity thieves may learn the user interfaces for these terminals, thereby knowing exactly what keystrokes are required in order to complete a transaction. In this way, an identity thief may know exactly when sensitive information is being entered into the terminal. By knowing exactly when to capture sensitive information on a portable device, an identity thief may move about a public place without drawing attention to its plan. The thief may temporarily take a position of easy information access precisely when necessary and where necessary to capture sensitive information.
Accordingly, in light of difficulties associated with protection of sensitive information in public locations, there exists a need to be able to protect sensitive information entry through improved methods, systems, and computer program products for providing a user with a more secure sensitive data entry environment.