Research Paper On Identity Theft

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation” (Oscar Wilde). This quote illustrates how in our world, a person’s identity can be easily changed. Many Americans are effected by this problem today. Citizens, criminals, and the government all play a role in this process. However, many disagree as to whether identity theft should be allowed in our country. Based on the history of identity theft and relationships between American citizens, the government, and this issue, identity theft should be abolished in America.

Identity theft is when someone, without the consent of the owner, dishonestly uses, or intends to fraudulently use another individual’s personal identity. Personal identifying information can consist of an individual’s name, date of birth, driver’s license number, mother’s maiden name, state identification number, telephone number and other personal information that

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

Millions of children use the internet almost daily. Cybercrime is a multibillion dollar industry. Around half of teens have been cyber bullied and well over half don't tell a parent when it does occur. Parents should use parental control because their are predators on social media. Also identity theft is very plausible and it will help with time management.

During this project, the question arose; who is or has been the biggest winner of identity theft? In the few rare cases involving identity theft where a perpetrator was caught, the culprits in the following cases were identified. And the runner up in the game of identity theft is: Albert Gonzales who in 2008 stole 30 million credit and bank card numbers, hacked several corporate data bases and stole over $200 million. And our grand prize winner is: Philip Cummings who in 2002 obtained 15,000 consumer’s identities and hacked a credit reporting agency. He stole $2.7 million. (Graphs.net). While there is no clear solution to prevent being a victim of identity theft, a person can only take precautions, be aware of their surroundings, monitor

The use of government identification is used from buying alcohol to applying for a job. If the identification is stolen, the criminals now have access to these items, while using the victim’s money. Criminals that conduct identity theft have even been known for buying items such as a new driver’s license! The most thought of form of identity theft is from credit cards. These types of theft can be stopped the quickest, if the person is active in checking their accounts for unauthorized transactions. Some purchases, like purchasing furniture may have the bank calling you to make sure you are authorizing that purchase, as it is a more expensive purchase. Many cases of identity theft, have no financial loss. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) states: “From 2005 to 2010, the percentage of all households with one or more type of identity theft that suffered no direct financial loss increased from 18.5% to 23.7%.” While there may have been some out of pocket expenses to help get everything back to normal, these cases are less severe than the other ones stated so far. While identity theft can be a great burden, these cases can be solved within a day. The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that “Half of identity theft victims who were able to resolve any associated problems did so in a day or less.”

Law enforcement officials have stated that identity theft crime has been one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. Identity theft is also one of the fastest growing white collar crimes. This is a serious crime. Identity theft is the act of knowingly transferring or using 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 law. If the offender is found guilty, then the person committing the act could get a fine, property forfeiture, or at maximum of 15 years in prison.

There are as many as eight or more different types of identity thefts, but these three are the more common types: Financial Identity Theft, Driver’s License Identity Theft, Social Security Identity Theft. Consumers need to know what to do if they are a victim of identity theft starting by knowing the type of identity theft they are dealing with. (Stroup, 2016) Most people recognize and associate financial theft with this type of crime. It involves the use of personal information to create or take over someone’s financial accounts such as (checking accounts, credit cards, etc). Thieves then can acquire the information needed to hack into your accounts or steal your information through computer viruses, data hacking or any other cyber- attacks. It can be frustrating, stressful and time consuming trying to get

Many people do not realize how easily criminals can obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes. The most common ways to commit Identity Theft is:

Can you imagine getting all of your personal information records getting stolen and not having any protection? Identity is a valuable, and irreplaceable responsibility and it needs to be protected. Government protection can help decrease records and social security numbers from getting stolen. This step forward can result in fewer criminals in the future. Although this has been getting harder over the years due to the advancements in technology through social media and different types of communication modes that are getting used more then ever in the past. In the coming years there should be help implemented in the protection of security systems used while also implementing stricter regulations.

the Risk of Crime? Ed. Lisa Yount. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt.

Having the internet at our disposal makes our lives so much easier to live, however we may consider it a blessing but there are some curses that trails right behind it.

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 affects millions of Americans every day. Scam artists and hackers lay in wait for an unsuspecting person to get caught up their scheme through ignorance or naivety so they can take full advantage of their personal information to do as they desire with it. Problem is, it infiltrates and depreciates the integral infrastructure of our society which creates a cultural lapse through the declination of economic and cultural growth and double jeopardizes an already unstable system to the brink of its destruction. To understand how

As technology gradually becomes embedded in every aspect of our lives, we become more and more susceptible to identity theft. Identity theft has become a bigger issue over the last couple of decades due to the availability of so much information for free online, as people become more and more desperate to find loopholes and other ways to cheat the system and ultimately obtain money at little to no cost. Identity theft occurs when individuals or groups obtain someone’s personal information through either the internet or other methods and use it for their own financial gain.