Identity Theft Effects

Identity theft is the stealing and use of someone’s personal information and is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation (Dole, 2005). According to Federal Trade Commission estimates, identity thieves victimize approximately 10 million Americans every year at a cost of an astonishing $50 billion (2005). Identity theft has been going on for years now and is easily done with the help of today’s technology. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are six common ways that identity thieves get a hold of personal information. The varieties of methods that are used are dumpster diving, skimming, phishing, changing the victim’s address, stealing, and pretexting (Federal Trade Commission). Once someone’s identity is stolen,

People need to be educated about this crime.  Identity theft is growing daily.  There are young children already having there identity tarnished because of their careless actions.  One problem is people trust the internet for everything.  Teens and adults will put their personal information on the internet for the entire world to see..   It is not only the youths fault but its also the parents fault for being careless and allowing youth to have such free access to the internet without proper monitoring.  People need to be more strict and educate their children on what to disclose on the internet.  There are millions of computer hackers and criminal websites waiting for the right opportunity to commit this type of

Every minute, about nineteen people fall victim to identity theft. Identity theft is the fraudulent use of a person’s private information; typically for financial gain. Frank Abagnale Jr. was notorious for using various identities to receive numerous benefits. Abagnale’s identity wavered depending on the career he chose. This bewildered investigators and caused the prolonged search for Frank Abagnale Jr. As technology advances; identity theft will continue to flourish throughout numerous infrastructures. Identity theft hastily becoming one of the largest growing crimes in America. However, there are numerous ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim to this malicious threat. By inspecting your purchases on the internet, keeping your personal information safe,

In recent years, the world has seen significant changes in technology. With new technology come new challenges. One of those new challenges is identity theft. Identity theft can happen through the internet, ATM, emails, or even a phone. Identity theft can happen when any person(s) takes an individual’s information, such as their Social Security number, or even banking information for financial gain. “Close to 100 million Americans have their personal information placed at risk of theft each year when records in databases are lost, stolen or accessed by unauthorized individuals” (Information systems and technology, n.d.). Identity theft not only costs the person, whose

Identity theft involves gathering valuable information retaining to an individual in order to make a financial gain out of the process. This’ll usually involve the attacker having to open a bank account in the victim’s name and ask for a new credit card for the account. They can then withdraw as much money as they please from the account before the victim can do anything. In 2014, 47% of American adults had their personal information stolen by hackers making identity theft the largest cybercrime to date. According to the U.S Justice Department, every 3 seconds someone becomes a victim of identity theft. Over $18 billion had been stolen as a result. Identity theft comes from hackers or scammers either convincing victims into giving up personal

Internet identity theft is a serious danger in our world today, victims of this crime have had their lives ruined and in some cases have ended up in jail because of crimes committed by an identity thief. Internet identity theft is “the criminal act of fraudulently obtaining the personal information belonging to another individual within the realm of a computer or electronic setting.”(1) Throughout the past several years there have been several laws passed to combat and keep up with this ever evolving crime, those laws include The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, and The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008. In addition to these, several states have pending legislation out there to either pass new state laws or revise current ones. In this paper, theses laws and the pending legislation in some of those states will be discussed in detail.

The number of people that have experienced identity theft has been increasing rapidly. Identity theft is when one’s personal information, including social security number, credit card number or even name is stolen and is used for economic gain. A person’s identity could be taken at any time or place, and it could happen without them knowing about it. Once a person’s identity has been stolen, there are not many things they can do about it, and resolving it might take a couple months, if not years. According to “Fending Off Identity Fraud” by Danielle Britni, in 2012 alone, 16.6 million Americans were victims of some type of identity theft. In this article, the author explains multiple ways of protecting one’s identity, as well as a way of keeping

Identity theft is one of the growing crimes in the United States due to the fact people do not know how to properly protect themselves against it. Criminals use different methods to acquire the information necessary to steal someone’s identity. Some of the techniques used to commit identity theft are; stealing wallets, acquiring bank information or pilfering through trash to find documents containing PII (FBI, n.d.). Nowadays criminals are able to steal people’s identity using different procedures over the internet without having to compromise their identity. Some of the methods are social engineering, phishing, sending spam messages and malware (OLI, 2013). Criminals use these methods because with the use of technology, identity theft could be accomplished anonymously and without much effort. Also because people lower their guard about securing their personally identifiable information when using the internet, especially when using social networks, they become easy targets to

Identity theft isn't new, but it's on the rise. Every day, too many Americans learn that their identities have been compromised, often in ways and to an extent they could not have imagined. There is no magic bullet that will eradicate identity theft. To successfully combat identity theft and its effects, we must keep personal information out of the hands of thieves; take steps to prevent an identity thief from misusing any data that may end up in the wrong

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).

Identity theft is one of the most pervasive and rapidly growing criminal activities in America. It is also one of the most devastating crimes for victims. One of the most common forms of identity theft is credit and debit card fraud. Credit card fraud not only exposes private payment information to thieves, but possibly the cardholder's name, address, and social security number. A 2003 survey from the Identity Theft Resource Center found that approximately seven million people were victims of identity theft over the previous 12 months. 73% of respondents indicated that the theft of their identity involved the unauthorized use of their credit card information, while only 15% of these victims find out about the theft of their credit

     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

Identity theft has been around for many years, and is a method of stealing another person’s identity. The person who steals the identity then pretends to be the person whose identity they have just stolen. This is done to get the persons credit card information, their resources, and their benefits. The victim of the theft can have everything in their life taken from them, and it is not an easy crime to prove. Sometimes, the person uses that newly attained identity to commit other crimes, which then can get the victim in even more problems. Identity theft can lead to identity fraud, leading to the misappropriation of the person’s identity. With the modern technology of today identity theft has become a lot easier. With firmware, spyware, and viruses identity theft has become easier than ever, apps and programs like these will take a lot more than a person’s credit card information. However, identity theft is not as simple as one may think; many types of identity theft that affect people every day.

Identity theft occurs when someone gains access to a person’s basic information, including name, address, and credit card or social insurance number, and uses that information to open bank accounts, order merchandise, borrow money or take over one’s personal identity.2 For example, Adam S. Marlin of CNN interviewed a family physician that had recently been a victim of identity theft. Ignacio Ramirez of San Diego, California, received a telephone call last February from a Boston medical-equipment supplier demanding $85,000 for purchased medical supplies. Ramirez, himself, did not make these purchases. Weeks later he was to learn that he had, in fact, been a victim of identity theft. A woman had obtained Ramirez’s personal information from the Internet. She was able to obtain crucial identification information which included Ramirez’s medical license identification and social security number which were then used in order to purchase medical supplies on his credit.3 This situation, unfortunately, is not uncommon. Criminals use a variety of methods to access personal information such as stealing wallets, stealing mail, shoulder surfing at an ATM and searching dumpsters but the Internet seems to be increasingly the

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