Identity Theft Effectiveness

Identity theft is the fraudulent acquistion and use of a person private identifying information, usually for finacial gain.  Identity theft can happen to anyone, it can happen several different ways.  A lost or stolen wallet which has personal information in it, credit cards, mail that has been thrown away, and over the internet.  Your personal information can also be stolen from stores you shop at, your doctors office, or even your childrens school.  Identity theft can cause problems upon a person such as financial problems, credit issues, problems with the law, and legal problems.  Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.  Over nine million people have been victims.  This problem needs to be solved because there are millions of people in the United States whose lives ruined from this crime.

With so many victims of identity theft every year, you may be asking yourself, well what is our government or law enforcement officials doing to protect us against identity theft? In the article “Congress gets a chance to combat identity theft,” Kristof (2007) writes that “A decade ago identity

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.

Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act is a federal law established in 1998 that protects people from identity theft. Prior to this date there were not any specific laws to address this issue. The definition on the Federal Trade Commission’s website reads. “knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law;”

Identity theft is a significant problem to both citizens and financial institutions. The FTC estimates that over 27.3 million Americans have been the victims of identity theft in the past five years. The

The government is working very hard to fight against identity theft. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act to help people who have been a victim of identity theft. This act helps to prosecute suspects that have committed crimes dealing with identity theft. Suspects can get anywhere from 15 to 30 years when it comes to identity theft. Identity theft includes credit card fraud, identification fraud, computer fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, or financial institution fraud. Not only do these suspects go to prison, but they have to pay the money back, and anything that is gained in the while committing the crime will be seized. The government works very hard with other agencies to help prosecute crimes that involve identity

Mandatory restitution and fines of a very significant amount should be implemented along with lengthy mandatory prison sentences. Anyone convicted should also have all of their assets seized with a significant portion of them to be forfeited as part of their penalties. Identity theft will never be stopped but hopefully, if the penalties are such that the perpetrator risks losing more than they could hope to gain from the crime maybe then we could see a decrease in the number of identity thefts.

Good job, you made some very good points, and I agree with you 100%. Identity theft is the victimizing of an individual, who personal information is used for someone else’s benefit. It’s crazy to think someone can hack into your own personal accounts, as well as, create new ones. I completely agree with your idea in educating the public on identity theft. It would be a great thing to be required to take an identity theft course/orientation in college. Especially since, all college students are responsible for their own personal information not like in high school where their parents worried about all that information. Once again, great job.

Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud crime in America (Finklea, 2009). Gaining knowledge in preventing theft will better the economy and lower the crime rates in America. There are reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft and this number is increasing rapidly as the years go on. It has been reported that an estimate of fifty billion dollars has been charged to our consumers every year due to identity theft (Finklea, 2009).

Another possible solution to prevent identity theft involves destroying important documents. An identity thief can “smell” important documents just lying around waiting for the perfect time to grab each document. In the article, How to Protect Yourself From Identity Thieves, a list is provided for what type of documents that should be torn or shredded: “charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statement, credit offers receive in the mail, check and bank statements” (23). The documents listed above are in all households, churches, business offices and etc. To protect the identity of others, we must seek safe options of where documents should be stored. On an everyday basis, someone’s life is getting pulled away from them with a blink of the eye. We need to influence each individual person to stop lying there personal documents around for the whole world to see. After reviewing labeled documents with personal information; the documents should be secured or abolished. Securing important forms will make life much more meaningful and less stressful.

The scope of this report examines a) Crime of Identity Theft, b) Prevalence of Identity Theft, c) Costs Associated with Identity Theft, d) Popular Identity Theft Scams, e) Penalties Wages Against Perpetrators, and f) Preventative/Protective measures One Should Take.

According to the FBI.gov websites says that Identity theft has become a very common crime in today’s society, but there are many ways to avoid identity theft by understanding what it is, how it happens, and what you can do to prevent it.

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

Identity theft can be don’t by a lot of different ways. It’s not just through digital word. It can also be done physically. Stealing someone’s credit card or wallet is also a kind of identity theft. Thief’s can steal wallets which contains credit cards or debit cards, valuable information like social security or bank information. Another type is they can watch other people keying in their password of their ATM card. The most common type is they would get your credit card number or the ATM number. This valuable information allows them to use those cards for the purchases. They can use it anywhere. The FBI reports that since 2005, hackers have stolen 140 million records from US banks and other companies. It’s a growing crime currently. Victims can have a lot of damaging effects of this. It directly effects your credit score and because of that it’s hard to get a new credit card or to get a lone approved, its’ also hard to buy any property, job application rejection. A lot of damages can occur because of identity theft.

One of the worst and most widespread crimes is identity theft. Such thefts where individuals’ Social Security and credit card numbers are stolen and used by thieves are not new. Criminals have always obtained information about other people—by stealing wallets or dumpster digging. But