Combating Identity Theft

Unfortunately, it does happen though. This is why it is critically important to understand what to do when becoming a victim of identity theft. First thing to do is to “put a fraud alert on your credit report” Kimberly Rotter says. Placing fraud alert on credit reports will force creditors to identify you more thoroughly, place a security freeze on all credit reports, copies of one’s credit report from all three agencies. The next step would be to contact any institution that was directly affected.

Identity theft is when someone gathers your personal information and uses it against you illegally. How Does Identity Theft Happen? The methods that criminals use to get identity from people are always changing. There are 3 particular categories that these methods can be divided into.The first category is information given away. This method is referred to as the easiest way to steal someones identity.

Online Identity Theft Identity theft is the “appropriation of someone else’s personal or financial identity to commit fraud or theft” (Milne et al. 217) Identity theft can occur by physical or digital means. Understanding how identities can be stolen electronically is crucial to preventing identity theft. In addition to education, there is software and other preventative methods to prevent identity theft. An important way to prevent identity theft is to understand various ways people can steal an identity.

One of the biggest challenges in a money laundering investigation is providing the evidence that the assets are a benefit derived from criminal activities. To establish this paper-trail, fraud examiners must identify and trace the assets or “follow the money” to determine the

With all of this being said, when it comes to you or your family’s finances be careful. Someone you think you know and trust can very easily steal your credit card information, or even personal information to use for his or her own personal gain. Credit card fraud is just as simple as ordering things over the Internet or the phone. A person can make a copy of your card and use it with few, or no, ... ... middle of paper ... ...redit card fraud the amount of time it takes for the crime to be discovered can vary. When the card itself is stolen, the theft may be determined quickly, but in cases where a person’s personal information has been stolen, it can take far longer.

(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.

Identity theft can be described as the misappropriation of another person’s identity that typically involves impersonating someone else and taking up that person 's personality. Most cases of identity theft frequently involve the need to access valuable resources or take credit and other advantages that accompany a renowned person 's title. Victims of identity theft (people whose identities have been stolen) stand to suffer unfavorable consequences if they are assumed responsible for the actions of the perpetrator. Identity theft happens when an individual illegally acquires and exploits other people’s private information such as names or PIN numbers to carry out swindles or other offenses. While this nature of identity theft

This shows that identity theft is a growing problem that needs to be addressed (VanderPal). The United States Department of Justice, a branch of the United States government, defines identity theft as “terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” Identitytheft.info, a website edited by Rob Douglas, an identity theft expert, states, “…every individual or business is vulnerable to attack when it comes to personal or corporate information, products and services.” They also state, “As the methods used to perform identity theft expand, so do the types of accounts and services being stolen by identity thieves” (“Identity Theft Statistics”). As shown above, millions of people are being affected by identity theft in the United States, and it is only

Identity theft can be categorized in two ways: true name and account takeover. True name identity theft means the thief will use the personal information they stole to open new accounts. The thief could open a new credit card account, establish cellular phone service, or open a new checking account in order to get blank checks. Account takeover identity theft means the thief uses personal information to gain access to the person's existing accounts. That individual ends up changing the mailing address on an account and they can run up a huge bill before the person whose identity has been stolen realizes there is a problem.

All one needs is an individual’s name, date of birth, and Social Security Number (Dimov, 2014). These three pieces of personal detail are often deemed the “Holy Trinity.” Perpetrators often use this type of personal information to commit financial fraud, such as applying for credit cards in the victim’s name (Baltzan, 2013, p. 294). According to Paige Baltzan, there are two methods criminals use to steal one’s personal identity (2013, p. 294). One of these methods is phishing. This occurs when the perpetrator steals the victim’s personal information by using fake emails, which commonly ask for personal details (Baltzan, 2013, p. 294).