Identity Theft What is identity theft? By definition “Identity theft n. the dishonest acquisition of personal information in order to perpetrate fraud, typically by obtaining credit, loans, etc., in someone else's name; fraud perpetrated in this way. ” (dictionary.oed.com, 2007). It’s estimated that 9 million Americans have had their identities stolen each year. “According to the Secret Service, its investigations show a jump in potential losses due to identity theft, from $851 million in 1998 to $1.4 billion in 2000.” add citation from how stuff works There are many ways that thieve steal your identity, they may go through your trash, steal your wallet or purse. I will discuss a lot of the different ways in more detail. Per about.com dumpster diving. “Dumpster diving is when someone goes looking through other people’s trash for items that can be used or sold”. (Ledford) Dumpster diving in of itself is not a crime if the trash is in a public places, it only becomes a crime if the trash is considered concealed. Dumpster diving is more of a threat than most people realize. It’s easy for a theft to get your personal information if you throw it away. So Shred everything that has identifiable information about you. A phishing scam is when someone claims they are from a bank, wireless company or some company that would normally have your personal information. They have fake websites that look just like that company’s real website. They ask you to click on a link to update or missing or invalid information. Once you click on the link it takes you to their site and they gave and use your information. Here are some tips the FTC recommends to help prevent this from happening to you. If you receive one of these emails d... ... middle of paper ... ...eone else information when pull over and taken to jail. They are then release and then go on about their business and the person’s whose identity was stolen is held accountable. This individual may not be aware of this until they are perhaps pulled over in a traffic stop. The last form of identity theft I would like to discuss is identity cloning. This is when someone actually pretends to be someone else in order to elude law enforcement. They maybe a illegal immigrant looking for work in another country or they maybe someone running from police in another state who has committed a crime. In conclusion, it is easy to have your identity stolen but I could be very difficult to clean up the damaged caused by someone stealing it. So please be carefully and safeguard all of your personal information if you have to provide this information only give what is needed.
In other words, analyzing the mistakes that people make when dealing with their information, can save someone from identity theft. Most identity thieves can get personal information just by simply looking in the trash. Your wallet can get stolen if not kept safely. Anything with information on it such as, credit cards, driver’s license, passports, and health insurance cards, can and will be useful to any identity thieves. Identity theft is a serious crime that can completely wreak your finances, credit history, and reputation.
A common way that people steal information is through phishing emails. The thieves send a large number of emails to people, saying that they are their bank, or some other financial company. It says that you need to click on the link, then login. When you do, the thieves would have all the information they need to be able to use your account. Another type of phishing emails is someone telling you that you have been scammed, and that the only way to take care of it is by telling them your financial information, saying that they will need it. This, of course, will not help you in any way, as you were not scammed in the first place, and you told them your financial information, which they can use to take loans, use your money...etc. One last type of common phishing email is more directed towards parents and grandparents. The thief pretends to be their child or grandchild, in vacation, the thieves might know whether they really are in vacation or not from social media, and that they encountered a problem, and are in need of money, fast. People can’t really stop themselves from sending money as their children are very important to them. One common way that hackers steal information is one that people often forget. Hackers guessing password on your phone is one way they take information. That is why having weak passwords, such as “1234” or your
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
Identity Theft is a severe and important issue that needs more recognizing than is currently has now. Identity Theft is when mean people go around and try to steal your Identity. If they are successful and have stolen your identity they can buy items and you will be charged. They can also ruin your credit history and reputation with your Identity. Identity theft happens every day and many people are affected daily. If your identity gets stolen it may take years to get all your stuff back. It may even cost you money to fix it! This will tell you everything you need to know about Identity Theft and hopefully we can put a stop to it.
Today Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission, identity theft victim complaint database currently contains more than three hundred thousand complaints. American consumers reported losing over one billion dollars to fraud overall in 2014, according to the Federal Trader Commissions annual report on consumer complaints released earlier this year, with the average cost ranging between five hundred dollars to two thousand dollars per victim (Federal Trade Commission, 2014). According to the 2011 Identity Fraud Survey Report, approximately eight million adults in the United States were victims of identity theft with the total cost of thirty seven billion dollars (Britz, 2013). The Federal Trade commission strongly urges people to take action in protecting themselves from Identity Theft because everyone is at risk of this rapidly growing crime no matter your age, race, gender or current financial situation. Identity Theft when a illegitimate person gains access to your personal information, such as your Social Security number, credit card account information, your mother's maiden name, your driver's license number, and other important information to impersonate someone. When the criminal has gained the information they need, they have the ability opens credit accounts, cellphone accounts, and other types of credit based accounts in your name. In addition once a person’s information is stolen the criminal then has the ability to access current accounts that is possessed, leading to even further damage to personal finance and credit.
Identity theft refers to unlawful activities which specifically compromise another person’s identity. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), identity theft is an activity “in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” Such personal data can include names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, bank accounts, credit card numbers, or medical records. Identity theft can also be part of or enable other types of crimes such as bank, credit card, document, employment, or immigration fraud; robbery; and burglary, for example (Finklea, 2010, p. 2). Identity theft exists on a continuum with simple unauthorized credit card charges on one end all the way to having one’s identity completely assumed by another.
In most cases identity theft deals with phone, utility, bank and employment fraud. Identity theft can occur in four ways. There is stealing, dumpster diving, skimming and phishing. Stealing is just when someone steals your wallet or takes important information from your wallet. Dumpster diving is when thieves scavenger into dumpsters to retrieve confidential information, like credit card statements. Skimming is when someone uses a skimmer which is a device that retrieves all the data from the magnetic strip on the credit or debit card that you use. Phishing is when an email is sent to someone pretending to be a company, asking a person to update their pas...
How common is identity theft? It is the top consumer fraud complaint. There are an estimated 500-750 thousand victims per year. Different types of fraud that are included in the identity theft crime are identification fraud; credit card fraud; computer fraud; mail fraud; wire fraud; and financial institution fraud. One of the ways this crime can occur is by social security number, they assume an identity, make fraudulent credit charges, get loans, open bank accounts, write bad checks on your account, and commit crimes in a person?s name. Some of the ways thieves get some data is by wallet (you may have left behind), mailbox, or garbage; from insecure financial transactions completed over the Internet; from information left on machines in public; wireless technology such as cell phones; beepers; etc., and some will go so far as going through people?s trash.
Identity theft is an increasing epidemic. Some of the ways a person can commit identity
Identity theft is a serious crime where a thief obtains your personal information, such as your social security number, to commit fraud. Identity theft has become a growing issue in today 's society, especially with today 's advanced technology. Research done by Javelin strategy concludes that nearly 12 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in 2011. The statistics of identity theft show an increase of thirteen percent over 2010. The numbers are increasingly growing as the years go by. Approximately seven percent of adults have their identity stolen, resulting in at least $3,500 in losses. Identity thieves develop cagey methods to steal identities like stealing wallets, mail, and phone calls that lure people into giving out their
These identity theft thieves can gain access to all of your information very easily without you even knowing. Some of these silent approaches include dumpster diving, skimming, fishing, changing your address or just out right stealing (Kadlec, 2011, 3). I have noticed even in my workplace that people are very careless when it comes to throwing things away versus shredding. Dan Kadlec, writer of the article titled “Card Fraud: 7 Ways to Counter New Skimming Scams”, pointed out one of the approaches stating that, “Skimming has become the identity theft of choice for many crooks. You have a one-in-five chance of being a victim; losses will total about $1 billion this year. Other forms of identity theft include dumpster diving,
According to Merriam Webster, identity theft is the illegal use of someone else's personal identifying information (such as a Social Security number) in order to get money or credit. Identity theft has been around ever since banking was introduced to the world, but did not become a federal offense until 1988. Before the Privacy Act was passed by Congress in 1974, people physically carried their social security numbers on them, so identity theft was just as easy as stealing an individual’s wallet. With a person’s social security number, a thief has access to the person’s social security benefits as well as other government services such as unemployment checks (Driscoll).
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 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.
In conclusion, identity theft is illegal, unethical and very dangerous to the victim. This is because identity theft can cause a lot of financial and reputation damage to the victim and his/her family. It is a shame that there are so many cases of this crime in the world today. Having said all of this, it is really important to prevent identity theft by being careful of your actions. However, as technology is advancing, it is becoming more and more harder to do so. Due to this fact, it is important for each individual to know what identity theft is and what they can do to prevent it from happening. After this is accomplished, identity theft will be minimized and this world will be a better and safer place.