What is Identity Theft? Christmas day is fast approaching and people are busy hitting the stores to buy gifts for their loved ones. With this festive season going this month, thieves are also keeping eye on people who they can easily steal personal information from.
Millions of people have been victims of identity theft. As consumers, we need to be aware of what’s going on around us, especially when we’re giving away our personal information to other people. But really, what is Identity Theft? Identity theft has been popular internet issue for years now. This refers to a type of crime in which an imposter obtains and uses another person's personal information normally for economic gain. In general, identity theft takes place when thieves
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Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), the maximum liability for unauthorized use of credit card is $50. However, if you called and report the loss of the credit card before it is used by the identity thieves, the FCBA says you are not responsible for any unauthorized charges. With debit card, if you don’t pick it up right away, potentially, you can lose all the money you have in your bank account. On the contrary, if you do report the fraudulent charges on your credit card, the bank will automatically freeze that account. Thus, you are left with no access to it for weeks or months. This also means, you can’t pay your bills on time, and you’re unable to withdraw money from that account either.
Social Networking
It is obvious that social networking sites are here to stay, and it is the responsibility of the federal government and state to protect individuals from perpetrators who seek to impersonate potential innocent victims through the use of such sites. Whether the method is by creating a fake profile or stealing personal information to access the victim’s profile, internet impersonation can be severely detrimental to potential victims (Reznick, 2013).
In addition, there are more personal data being collected as the cost of information technology falls. Although, collecting such data undeniably provides economic benefits, it has proved impossible to keep data completely protected against criminal misuse (Roberds and
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
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
Introduction: Your heart pounding, hands shaking, body quivering. To the regular public, this may sound like a medical emergency. But, to identity theft victims, it’s their lives shattered, pieces broken! Identity Theft includes the utilization of another person’s valuable information such as driver’s license number, social security number, and even social media passwords. Such a crime impacts someone’s finances and even reputation.
Identity theft is a crime in which an impostor obtains key pieces of personal identifying information (PII) such as Name, Email address, password, credit card and Social Security numbers (SSN) and uses them for their own personal gain like using identity to obtain credit, goods and services, posing as another person when apprehended for a crime.
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 is when someone other than you, steals your personal information for illegal gains while pretending to be you. Thus, using someone else’s identity can seriously affect someone’s lively hood, business, job opportunities, and reputation,
They estimate that as many as 9 million Americans have had their identities stolen each year. In fact, it is said that you or someone you know may have experienced some form of identity theft. The crime takes many forms. Identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name. You may not find out about the theft until you review your credit report or a credit card statement and notice charges you didn’t make—or until a debt collector contacts you.
Identity theft over the years has cost citizens and businesses millions of dollars each year just in the United States alone. It has also taken on different forms from true identity theft (false impersonation), to theft for financial gain, and to non-credit forms of identity theft. Identity theft does not necessarily have to cause monetary damage, but what it does do to a victim’s credit, medical history, citizenship, driving records, etc. can do possibly more damage. Furthermore, identity theft threatens our national security, impacts our economy, and can facilitate terrorism and illegal
According to the Department of Justice, identity theft is a crime which occurs when an individual deliberately acquires personal information from another individual in order to commit fraud, or for personal gain (Department of Justice, 2015). This crime has the potential to cause serious damage to the reputation of individuals and companies. Information technology is commonly used among criminals to gain access to sensitive information in order to commit identity theft. Although the impact of identity theft may be devastating, there are many ways that consumers and organizations can prevent
Identity theft, the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person’s private identifying information, commonly seen in a financial gain or in a way to get money. An identity thief usually will find various ways to take the identity of a random person and say that they are that certain person. Ways that thieves steal other people’s identities is by hacking into personal computers where there people have their personal information stored in files. Also, thieves trick people into getting a job or an apartment and they get fooled by giving their personal information for example giving away their social security number or even giving them their debit card number. Some people even take away wallets or purses where there are some sort of personal information
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.
Which can include your name, mother’s or father’s name, birthday, your current or previous address, any home or cell phone number, bank account details and debit card or credit card personal identification number. Identity fraud and identity theft mostly done at the same time, when one commits an identity theft crime, they are also committing and identity fraud crime.The only thing about identity theft is that it involves victimization, with this being said, this specific form of fraud precisely affects the victim’s life along with others depending on the crime. It could also have an effect towards the government, consumers, health care providers, insurance providers and employers. Identity theft can be described as a situation in which the victim’s personal information is stolen for the criminals own
Identity theft is a common crime in the United States today. It happens when people are not careful of their personal information. Millions of people are victims if Identity theft. According to consumer.gov Identity theft happens when someone uses information about you without your permission. Identity thieves could use a wide variety of information such as your name and address, credit card or bank account numbers, Social Security number and medical insurance account number. It is such as serious crime because you will be responsible for what the thief does while using your personal information. They can obtain a new credit card under your name and buy things with your credit card. It is important to know how to keep your sensitive information safe and know how Identity theft works in today’s society to prevent yourself from
Identity theft is one of the most common types of cybercrime. Identity theft a term which refers to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal information in some way that involves fraud or deception. Identity thieves are looking to gain pieces of personal identifying information (PII) such as social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and credit card numbers. There are numerous ways identity thieves can obtain pieces of your PII. There are online methods such as phishing and date breaches, which will be address in this report, and non-online methods such as dumpster diving and wallet stealing, which will not.
For starters it is one of information on identities is plentiful. Due to the extent of online use and social media, information is readily available, and unlimited. (“Working Together Against Identity Theft”). Furthermore the crime is easy to get away with. All purchases and crimes committed under identity theft are in the victim's name making it easy to avoid apprehension (Kirchheimer). In short, Identity Theft is of the simplest crimes to commit and get away with.