need knowledge to prove innocence

[Tedob1]

come on guys...we all know people (or at least i do) that would spend all day fishing for account info and use it to hack other computers and sign up for porn sites. it was a way of life for some

im not sure of the laws in the uk reguarding this. does the law forbid anyone from registering with such a site or is it the downloading and posession of kiddie porn thats expressed in the law. From what ive gathered all they have is credit card information etc and no record or proof of anything else.

Your new computer was found clean. i would think a child pervert would take and hide his/her stash of pics on it first thing. its hard to believe someone like that would just forget about it just because they got a new computer. i hope you've talked to a lawer but it seems to me with the insecuritys in computers 4 years ago, the lack in general of security knowledge at that time combined with the lack of hard evidence against you the burden of proof is on them.

what operating system was on the old computer and how was it set up. was finnancial info stored on it. did many people have access to it. anyone that had access to it could have gotten your passwords with ease using a program like 'snitch'.

when i think of the number of ways someone could have gotten your information coupled with the fact that there was nothing on your computer...i have to side with you.

[Phat_Penguin]

Tedob1 is right - the knowledge I have of police raids on paedophiles and the like - they always turn up scores of images, documents and other evidence of their nefarious activities.

These people tend to covert their collections and rarely part with them, and it is generally not a passing whim, it is an obession - so there is generally tons of evidence pointing to their activities. Hence your visit from the constabulary.

Good advice has already been given here but I will stress it again, get expert legal advice before speaking to the investigating officers again - I really think they are drawing a long bow in trying to make the connection - but given the evidence in their possession it was something that they had to check.

[collinson]

many many thanks for all your advise so far [my husband is innocent and has been a victim of internet crime],he just didnt realise how easy it is for others to get his details and use them, we are grateful for your help.

[[WebCarnage]]

many many thanks for all your advise so far [my husband is innocent and has been a victim of internet crime],he just didnt realise how easy it is for others to get his details and use them, we are grateful for your help.

I fail to see how we helped. We merely analysed the situation and left you to deal with the problem.

Meh...

If I were you I'd make a strong stand against internet crime and identity theft, this may show the police that you are worried, and know about the situation, and did your homework, and that you want to end all of this - plus stop it from ever happening to anybody again.

Just my two cents.

[collinson]

you have helped by telling us how this may have occurred,we are both novices when it comes to the internet and any further help such as useful web sites or even possible explanations are of great benefit to us .

[darkes]

I believe the law here in the UK is that it is not illegal to register with such a site.
There is no specific IT legislation - it is just covered by normal English common law.
Which means it is an offence to posses child porn i.e. any pictures downloaded, which is why the police are keen to see the original PC (or rather the hard disk that was in it).

I believe the situation with this site was that whilst you had to provide credit card details, no charge was made to used to access the main site. Hence no record on your credit card.

And given that it is possible that someone else did this anyway, the fact that the police say that you must have received a password to access the site doesn’t mean anything at all.
How do they know it was you who registered in the first place, rather than someone else who had access to your personal information?
Even if you did receive such an email, so what? It doesn’t mean that you used the password.
A possible scenario is that someone else intercepted the password and used it themselves.
Without access to your PC, or any sort of traffic logs, this is an empty accusation.

A transaction against your credit card would only happen if it had been used to access one of the links on the site, which would almost certainly have contained highly illegal images. If there are transactions on your credit card from one of the companies involved, this would obviously look very suspicious, as most people would query an unauthorised transaction on their credit card.

Without this, I can’t see any evidence at all.

Just my opinion of course - if the police insist on pursuing it make sure you get an IT literate solicitor to argue your case.

[dcongram]

Here's another way 'your' credit card was used (without your knowledge)

Last week I scuffled with an intruder in our complex. He was younger, and quicker and got away. But I got his knapsack. When the Police opened it - it was full of MAIL of all sorts, including 3 x 'Pre-approved' credit cards from various banks. The Police told me this was common.

Those stolen credit cards could be activated by anyone - and used for any purchases, anywhere.

[XTC46]

After I have read this entire thread I have decided that it is full of very valuable info. We all now know (if we didnt know before)

1. never give out passwords, usernames, etc..
2. Dont look at kiddie porn
3. never send out info over non secure webpages.
4. tear up all credit card things that come to you in the mail
5. Dont install programs if you dont know what they do.
6. Know the basics of the laws that govern your activities.
7. Cooperate with police.
8. and for those of us who dont want to follow the rules, format you computer lots, inbetween formats delete temps and cookies. and if necessary destroy hard drives. =) good thread in my opinion. everyone that posted (aside from me) had something valuble to say. good job everyone.

[pskyboy]

Formatting your HD is still no guarantee to keep you from getting into trouble if you really want to not follow the rules your best bet is to get a tool that will overwrite all sectors on your HD. These tools exist and I think McAffee have one in there tool set. Also i think there is one in Norton utilities.

Peter

[[WebCarnage]]

Another possibility is that the credit card info that he did give out to the sites may have come back to haunt him. Maybe he gave his credict card info to not kiddie porn, but some Admin who does?...


For the Admin would have all he needs once your husband pressed that "enter" key.