Forensic Investigation On Identification Theft

According to the Federal Trade Commission Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States of America. They estimated that 10 million people a year are victimized by the crime which comes out to about 19 people per minute are becoming victims of this crime. Given these extremely worrying statistics it has never been more important to be informed about the crime of identity theft and how to avoid it in your daily life especially as more schemes and ways to unknowingly forfeit your information are introduced with the prevalence of the World Wide Web (www, w3). More than just knowledge of the crime of identity theft it is also important to know what protections you can set to help protect your information. Also, given the amount of businesses and organizations, and the various vulnerabilities that their systems may have, that must have access and know significant information about your life it is also invaluable to understand how to recover from your information being lost. This paper will be used to inform about this growing crime including what identity theft is and the different types that exist, what information is most important to protect, what you can do to avoid it, how to recover from it and what that may entail, and how this applies to the field of computer science and what should be looked for when building systems, and different kinds of attacks that can happen.

In a criminal investigation, there is the need to break down two things. Firstly, the investigation itself and secondly the investigator involved. It is of utmost importance that the criminal investigation is done accurately, failure to do so will have negative consequences on the society. Investigation involves the collection of facts, scenarios and situations which are directly or indirectly related with the case. Whereas investigator is the person who should observe, question, analyze and scrutinize the available details. Careful evaluation then helps to achieve the much needed evidence. Criminal investigation is one of the most essential functions of the Law Enforcement agencies, as it is their prime responsibility to maintain a secure environment and

The crucial step of the investigation is the transport and storage of evidence recovered from the crime scene. Tightly controlled access during transport and storage will prevent any unauthorized contact and possible tampering or loss of evidence. The evidence that is recovered at the scene must reach a forensic laboratory as quickly as possible, appropriate conditions will prevent deterioration of evidence during transport and storage. Evidence might have to be stored for some years until a case goes to court or if the case is unsolved so labelling and storing evidence must be appropriately done to avoid contamination or disintegration etc.

In American society, there a fast growing white-collar crime that is becoming more and more popular among criminals. This white collar crime is call identity theft. Thousands of people have their identities stolen every year. Identity theft happen when criminals get a hold and use other people persona information such as credit card numbers, bank accounts numbers, insurance information and social security number to purchase good and other services fraudulently. More than 9 million American are victimizes by identity theft each year. With this number being so high it is evident that identity theft is one of the fast- growing crimes to hit the United State. Three reason why identify theft if being such a fast- growing crime in the United State is because more people credit card information is being stolen, more people are shopping online and more medical information is being stolen.

For this reason, it is imperative that the information gathered is reliable and accurate to ensure the evidence collected can be utilized by the digital forensic investigator for the current case (Ingalls & Rodriguez, 2011). Additionally, cyber incidents require digital forensic investigators to interview various individuals regarding the information needed for the case. According to the National Institute of Justice (2004), interviewing the system administrator, users, and employees of an organization regarding a cyber incident would provide investigators with valuable information; for example, user accounts, email accounts, network configuration, logs, and passwords. Furthermore, for digital forensic investigators to conduct an effective interview, they must have the proper tools and training to employ the interview process. For instance, formal procedures or instructions should be developed and implemented to ensure that the investigator follows a standard during all investigations. Additionally, training should be provided to ensure that digital forensic investigators comprehend by what means to prepare, conduct, and evaluate an interview. Furthermore, resources should be made available for digital forensic investigators to accomplish their tasks; for example, recording devices and references. Also, definitions should be provided to the digital forensic investigators for

Digital crime has been on the increase due to the increasing use of computer and internet. This has led the investigators with another method of fighting this crime. This is Computer Forensics, a process of going into computer hard drive and capturing basic information the user believed it has been erased.

In today’s society, unfortunately, the fraudulent based crime of identity theft has gained dominance as one of the most common crimes in the country. In response to the ever-growing trend of identity theft, all states have passed some form of law in an attempt to address the problem. Take, for instance, the state of North Carolina, to establish the necessary statute to combat the problem they first had to identify what constituted identity theft. What the North Carolina legislature developed for the purpose of establishing an identity theft crime is anyone who intentionally sets out to commit the fraudulent use of another person’s identity for the purpose of gaining any credit, money, or other types of reward, whether monetary or otherwise

After distribution digital devices to the research laboratory, the detective should point to the sort of info being wanted, such as phone numbers as well as call pasts from a cell phone, emails, documents and also messages from a processer, or even imageries on a tablet. As soon as the digital proof has been sent to the research laboratory, a skilled analyst will take the subsequent stages to reclaim as well as scrutinize information. When the proof collection and examination is conducted correctly; the inspectors can protect the info that can help with the felonious bustle claims through conversation or even a communication interchange, imageries as well as documents. The inspector will normally deliver all the auxiliary certification, emphasizing pertinent info, but also a statement itemizing what was done to excerpt the information. As with proof of additional sorts, chain of custody as well as proper assortment and extraction methods are acute to the believability of proof and should be painstakingly recognized. An uninterrupted chain of custody should be upheld in directive for proof to be acknowledged in the court of law. Values necessitate that every individual who handles

Before the reporting of the actual work done can start, it is important to include a section with the terms of reference. This explains the technical terms that is not generally known and any acronyms it might appear in the report. This is important for any readers that are not familiar with forensic terminology.Next a short background to the investigation must be given for the benefit other readers who are not familiar with the case the case.After the background is given, a section on the mandate must be included. This needs to explain who requested and authorized the investigation.It is also important define the scope of the investigation clearly, so that it is clear that the investigation did not venture outside of the legally authorized scope.The evidence must be clearly identified, inclusive of serial numbers and any other identification that can be used to confirm that it is the same as the evidence that was acquired. Where used, the hash codes for the evidence items should also be included to show

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing cybercrimes being conducted in today’s society. It is almost impossible to detect until it is too late. With the advancement of technology it can happen from anywhere in the world, from a remote village in Vietnam to the computer smart kid that lives down the street. And it is being done with as little as $40 dollars in equipment, which is turned into millions of dollars in theft and return. The procurement and safe keeping of who you are is a not a tough battle, and

Forensic science involves the use of science to solve criminal and civil crimes but mostly lies on the side of criminal investigations. It makes it possible to identify the criminals based on the DNA traces they leave behind. It involves analyses of blood, DNA and other evidences and later on uses the findings as evidence in the court of law. It helps in solving the various crimes in the world and this has been the greatest contributor to the growth of the sector. Cases that were previously considered impossible due to lack of evidenced tracing to the victim can now be solved using forensic science evidences. The essay aims at analyzing the different aspects of forensic science that are used in the process of solving criminal activities. It will also look at the different cases that forensic science was used to solve crimes in a court of law.

The government is actively involved in decreasing the amount of identity theft by providing the most effective tools to investigate and prosecute identity thieves. One of these tools is the Identity

Since the widespread use of computers, computer crime has caused an increase in computer investigations during the twenty first century. Some reasons for investigation include: identity theft, such as stolen social security and credit card numbers, to find evidence of a cheating spouse, to investigate hackers on a computer system, to find evidence of child pornography, and much more.

     In today's society, there is a white-collar crime that has greatly risen in popularity among criminals. This crime is identity theft. Hundreds of thousands of people have their identities stolen each year. Identity theft is when these criminals obtain and use consumers personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, insurance information, and social security numbers to purchase goods or services fraudulently. According to the Federal Trade Commission, over 1.1 million people were the victim of identity theft. With this number, it is very evident that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in our country. This paper will attempt to more thoroughly define identity theft. It will

The United States Department of Justice defines Identity Theft and Fraud 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” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2012). An individual’s personal data such as: Social Security number, bank account information, credit card numbers, or telephone calling card number¬ may be used by criminals to personally profit at your expense. In many cases, a victim's loss not only includes out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additional financial costs and time repairing and correcting credit histories and erroneous information. To assist with my research for this paper, I chose two books written from different perspectives. First, I sought out a book to provide a comprehensive review of identity theft history; methods used to steal identities, consequences of having your identity stolen, and prevention techniques from an individual or business perspective. Next, after developing a strong baseline on identity theft, I searched for a reference book which offers a comprehensive review of the concepts of computer crimes, relevant laws, and methods practiced by investigators to trace, capture and persecute identity theft