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The impact of online identity theft
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What is Identity Theft Identity –based crimes are considered to be one of the most significant and growing problems of the last 20 years due to the significant economic harm these offenses pose for victims(Holt & Turner, 2012). Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal identifying information. This can be attributed to weaknesses in the structure in which personal information flows in society (White, 2005).This information may consist of the person’s social security number, name address, or driver’s license number. One of the old ways of obtaining this information was going through the victim’s mail or pretending to be a telemarketer to obtain personal information. Since the advancement of technology criminals have also improved the ways they steal your information. One of the improvements is the “swiper”. This technique works by making a copy of the person’s credit card information when the person presents it to purchase something. The next step is transferring the information to a fake credit card for the criminals own personal use. Thanks to the internet criminals may also remotely access your computer and still your information all from the comfort of their homes or anywhere in the world. Once this information is obtained the thief can use this information to buy themselves a few nice things all paid for by you, while in the process of ruining your credit.
Statistics and Identity Theft Crimes
The average number of U.S identity theft victims annually is 11, 571, 900 and the total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2013 is 21 billion dollars (Identity theft/fraud statistics, 2013).Identity theft does not discriminate against age, race, or income. Anyone can be affected by identity theft. The most vulnerable age group to this crime ranges from age 18 to 24; followed by the age group 35 to 49. The most reported cases of identity theft involve financial motivation (Perl, 2003). Identity theft falls into three categories: financial identity theft, non-financial identity theft, and criminal record identity theft. Financial identity theft is the category that our paper will be focusing on. Non-financial identity theft involves telecommunications and utilities fraud or using the victim’s information to get government documents. This can be used to enter the country illegally or plan and execute terrorist attacks. Criminal record identity theft is basically the criminal using an innocent person’s clean record, meaning the person does not have a criminal record, to dodge being arrested.
Identity theft has been a major issue of privacy and fraud. In the data breach analysis from the Identity Theft Resource Center (2013), the number of data breaches from the year 2005 to 2012 increased. In 2012, there had been 49% where the data breach exposed people Social Security Number. The data breach of 2012 has a rate of 27.4% caused by hackers. These breaches were commonly from 36.4% businesses and 34.7% health and medical (Identity Theft Resource Center 2013). The number of identity theft varies from physical possession to digital possession. At least one-fifth of trash cans contains papers listing people’s credit card number and personal information. People that throw away their trash mails contain much personal information that is useful to steal someone's identity (Davis, 2002). Technology becomes a need where people use it daily and as a result it has also become a use for identity theft as well. Throughout the years as technology develops so does identity theft. This paper shows the types, methods and technique used for identity theft, and it also examines possible risk of identity theft from current technology.
Harrell, E., & Langton, L. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Programs. (2013). Victims of identity theft, 2012 (NCJ 243779). Retrieved from website: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4821
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.
Identity theft is an increasing epidemic. Some of the ways a person can commit identity
Identity theft is no new problem in our world. It has occurred for decades and only grows more popular with criminals. Due to our world’s expanding technology, identity theft is becoming easier to commit and harder to detect. Luckily as the criminals technology becomes more advanced, so does out justice system’s technology to help fight the crime. The number of criminals that engage in the fraud and thievery will only grow due to the lucrative nature of the crime, but also will the forces that are established to stop them. This white-collar crime will gain more attention and therefore more laws will be passed to protect the public from becoming victims. With the use of laws, task forces, and the education and awareness of the public, identity theft will be given more attention and focus to hopefully deter future threats from occurring.
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.
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
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
"The Cost of ID Theft, Part 1: Beyond Dollars and Cents." Commerce Times: Business Means Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
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.
Dyke, Van, and Albrecht W. "Identity Theft." U of NEBRASKA–LINCOLN. U of NEBRASKA–LINCOLN, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
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. This occurs when people simply just give away information like their address to strangers or when they are not safe online and their personal information can be accessible to anybody.The second category is known as offline methods.This category includes techniques like: dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, wallet or document theft, bogus phone call, skimming, pretexting and business record theft. The third category is refereed to as online methods. This includes ...
Instances of property crime have a tendency to fluctuate particularly when the economy is in a state of decline; however, a report just released by the FBI claims property crimes have decreased based on averages taken from reporting agencies for the first six months of 2013 (Minegar, 2014). While actual incidences of property crime may have decreased the methods used in committing these crimes continues to change with advances in technology. Crimes like identity theft are reported regularly. Computer technology, the internet, and jurisdictional boundaries each pose difficulty in identification of person’s intent on amassing their fortunes by stealing from others. This paper will attempt to identify how taking is applicable in shoplifting cases, how security is trained to address these issues, explain what constitutes a home invasion, and why statutes have been implemented to allow home invasion to be considered a crime separate from other forms of robbery or burglary, and to clarify the definition of cybercrime as well as how the governments are attempting to combat it.