Identity Theft: The Fast-Growing Modern Crime

Pasha Hakim
7/30/2017
Financial Literacy
Identity theft

In modern days, there is a type of crime that is growing very fast. It has become a very popular crime because it’s easily done, and it doesn’t leave a big trace, whether the crime is successful or not. The crime in question is Identity theft. Identity theft is a crime that involves a person or group pretending to be someone else for their own personal wants. The criminals use personal financial information such as social security number, bank and card information, your address and other personal information. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 15.4 million U.S. consumers have been victim to this crime, amounting to a loss of $16 billion, making it the most growing crime

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

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Christine. "Ways People Commit Identity Theft and Fraud." IDCare. IDCare, 2015. Web. 30 July