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Short paragraph about identity theft
Short paragraph about identity theft
Discuss identity theft
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Javelin Strategy & Research released an identity fraud study in 2017. It found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in the 2016 year. This compares to $15.3 billion and 13.1 million victims a year prior. Over the last six years over $107 billion has been stolen by identity fraud. So what is identity theft and how can you prevent yourself from falling prey to this growing crime?
The crime of Identity theft, or identity fraud as it is more appropriately called, occurs when an imposter obtains pieces of personal information used to identify a person- such as a name, address, social security number, credit card information etc. - and uses it to his advantage. A criminal with this information can commit financial fraud, or
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With these critical pieces of identifiable information in his hands, the criminal now has the ability to open accounts, make purchases, steal money or tax refunds, or even take advantage of services such as medical insurance. This can cause you to, all of a sudden, lose all of your credit, be sought after by police, and have your bank accounts maxed out. An imposter can even use your identity to enter into a country illegally, hide one’s own identity, or even commit acts of terrorism, all in your name.
People who commit identity fraud have their specific techniques they use to gain access to private information. Unfortunately, sometimes we make it easy for them to obtain our information. For example, did you know that when you make a credit card purchase many receipts contain your credit card number? If that slip of paper gets into the wrong hands, some unscrupulous person now has access to your bank
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In order to make sure you are not a victim, one should check their account on a regular basis to make sure there are no unfamiliar transactions. Usually when there are unusual purchases, the bank will inform the customer to make sure it’s not fraud. Many times a thief will make small transactions to run tests to see if the account operates. Small purchases may not alert the bank, which is the reason a person must always be on high alert. Any purchase which is unfamiliar must be reported immediately to the bank. The longer the fraud continues the more damage will be
...only hear about the different ways that criminals are committing electronic fraud such as hacking in to somebody’s computer and stealing their credit or debit card information. There are also cases where peoples identities have been stolen and whole other lives have been built on them by another person. It all started with check fraud and although it’s not talked about as much anymore, it is still a very large concern for most business owners and people like you and me. The tips that have been provided for us can help protect us from fraud, but it is up to us to take the extra steps to prevent check fraud. We cannot sign up for check fraud protection the same way we could for credit or debit card protection or to help protect ourselves from identity theft. There are processes in place to help us once we’ve experienced check fraud but it is up to us to avoid it.
Identity theft is something that has been around for some time and it will not be gone anytime in the future. With many of the technology that comes out every year may pose a threat to our privacy and personal information. The harm that an identity theft can cause can be from minor to severe. As a result no one would want to become a victim of an identity theft crime because we would never know if we can even restore everything to its original state. For those that have a dependency on technology, be careful about what you do, what you put on the Internet, what information you give out, this is because it could come biting you back into the future.
Identity theft is an increasing epidemic. Some of the ways a person can commit identity
Often imposters steal or use someone’s identity to conceal their true identity from their creditors or other individuals or from hiding from the government. They often use the victims’ photos and personal information through social networking sites and create stories to believe every around they are the real person. This is described as Identity Cloning or concealment as the imposters conceal themselves under someone’s identity.
Identity theft has been around for decades, so it’s nothing new. The only difference now is that the general public and the government are aware of the problem and actively pursuing strategies to combat it. However, identity theft wasn’t always about stealing someone’s credit card information or trying to extort large amounts of cash. It began mostly as a political tool to stuff ballot boxes or used by teenagers to obtain fake ID’s in order to get around laws that prohibited underage people from participating in certain activities such as drinking alcohol. In more recent years however, identity theft has become much more sophisticated and advanced. With the help of computers and advanced technology, identity theft, especially through the electronic world, has become easier and easier for criminals to acquire. (FBI) Most people who engage in the illegal act typically use it for economic gain, essentially to get rich. As any crimes go, identity theft is a nonviolent crime that is relatively easy to conceal which attracts more people to at...
The Internet plays the biggest role in identity theft. On the Internet, a thief can hide from detection while stealing peoples’ identities from their homes, being able to steal peoples’ information one by one “then disappearing into another identity,” (Vacca 60). Internet fraud consists of two phases. The first being spoofing where a fake site is set up made to look like the real thing. Once that is completed the second phase, phishing, begins. This usually starts with an email that uses the
Consequently, many people believe identity theft will never happen to them. If someone is not aware of how serious identity theft can be, they can make mistakes that make them vulnerable to identity theft. There are, however, three very important ways to prevent identity theft from occurring. By keeping financial papers secure, keeping track of who you’re giving your personal and financial information, and protect online information as well.
Identity theft is one of the most well known fraud and many people try to prevent it while fraudsters are looking for new ways to obtain it. The higher risk groups are college students and children. The main goal is to keep watch over your finances, credit score, bills, and passwords. Never let anyone know too much of your personal things. Families are usually scammed by other family members because they know where everything in that household is. You have to watch who you trust and it is sad. Not a day goes by when someone’s identity isn’t stolen. You can’t prevent all frauds but you can try your best to. Learn the warning signs to different types of fraud and find out solutions to keep yourself, your business, and your family financially, emotionally, and physically safe.
It is one of the hardest crimes to solve”(usatoday.com). The cost of investigating is costly, that authorities think it’s not worth investigating. All types of identity theft is punishable by the U.S. law and the punishment can go up to 30 years in prison, fines, and criminal forfeiture. Also, corporations should take people’s information with more care. Data breaches online should never happen if the information was secured
Sullivan, C. (2009). Is identity theft really theft? International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 23(1/2), 77-87. doi:10.1080/13600860902742596
Have you ever received a credit card bill at the end of the month with a ridiculous amount of money needed to be paid that you never spent? This is because of identity theft. The FTC estimates that each year, over 9 million people are affected by identity theft. According to Sally Driscoll, this is because almost anyone with a computer and a slight bit of computer knowledge can pull off identity theft. Experts also claim that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world. Identity theft is a global problem that cannot be stopped without effective measures. The problem is, effective measures are very hard to come by when dealing with identity theft because almost any security protocol can be by-passed.
III. Thesis Statement: Identity Theft is rapidly becoming a national issue because anyone of us could be a victim of identity theft. How we protect our self, keep our information private, identify any signs of identity theft, and report and repair our credit is up to each one of us. We have to be vigilant about our protecting ourselves from criminals.
Identity theft is when someone gathers your personal information and uses it against you illegally.
Identity theft according to Wikipedia.com is the deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to gain access to their finances or frame them for a crime. Less commonly, it is to enable illegal immigration, terrorism, espionage, or changing identity permanently.
America,” (Weidenfeld 1). Being the number one crime, identity theft is very dangerous. If your