Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft Essay

Being a victim of identity theft myself, I know the struggles of dealing with this topic. The credit card companies are at fault because of their lack of security when it comes to credit card usage and existing information. Credit card fraud is the easiest to commit and the most common. The Bureau of Justice did a study in 2007 with 7.9 billion people surveyed on how many households with at least one member of the household has been a victim of identity theft. The statistics showed that existing credit card theft increased from 2005 to 2007 by 31% and with 6.6% of people, being

Identity theft is a major concern today in our country, millions of a person’s identity have been compromised for many of years. Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s personal information such as name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, or other identifying information to take on that person’s identity in order to commit fraud or other crimes. Stealing an identity is, unfortunately, surprisingly easy to do and happens when you least expect it. Just by opening your mail, something that has personal information on it, throwing it in the trash. Therefore, a person can go through your trash and take all that information and use it against you to take on a new identity.

Figuring out if an identity is stolen is not easy only because it can be unknown until damage is dealt. This is why identity theft isn’t easy to stop. When most people report a crime, police arrive on the scene before serious damage is dealt, but when a thief steals a person’s identity, the victim can be unaware for quite some time before they realize the amount of money they lost. According to Tracey Whittaker and Anne Dilascio, in 2003, the average money lost from identity theft per person was $4,789, but in 2006 the average was less than $2000. The average out-of-pocket cost of identity theft victims in 2005 was

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

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

Tax-related identity theft occurs when a tax return is filed using a stolen social security number. Usually, this is something that will be discovered when you complete your annual taxes. You are most likely to discover that a thief has stolen your social security number and filed a return earlier in the

Identity Theft is the assumption of a person’s identity in order to obtain credit cards from back account and retailers; the crime varies from stealing money from existing bank accounts; renting apartments or storage units; applying for loans or establishing accounts using another’s name (legal dictionary, 2007). Identity theft and identity fraud are terms that are often used

The definition of Identity theft is when someone “knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with intent to commit, or to aid and abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law” (Finklea, 2009, p. 2).The use of social security numbers has taken identity theft to the extreme. It was originally used as a tax identifiable number. Now it is being used for job applications, bank accounts, Medicare, and welfare approvals. With the social security number on several different applications, this is opening the door for numerous identity theft opportunities.

By definition “Identity theft n. the dishonest acquisition of personal information in order to perpetrate fraud, typically by obtaining credit, loans, etc., in someone else's name; fraud perpetrated in this way. ” (dictionary.oed.com, 2007). It’s estimated that 9 million Americans have had their identities stolen each year. “According to the Secret Service, its investigations show a jump in potential losses due to identity theft, from $851 million in 1998 to $1.4 billion in 2000.” add citation from how stuff works There are many ways that thieve steal your identity, they may go through your trash, steal your wallet or purse. I will discuss a lot of the different ways in more

The less sophisticated thieves have perfected the art of “dumpster-driving” rummaging through trash. Abusing employer’s authorized access to credit reports or some even playing ‘landlord’ has given them unauthorized access to victim’s reports. Some victims have been scammed fro information by an identity thief posing as a legitimate businessperson or government official. In the most recent news from Concord, NC (Aug. 19, 2004), the police have uncovered a more sophisticated case of ID theft. The newspapers stated, “Authorities think a portable credit card reader, or skimmer, was used to read personal information off a credit card’s magnetic strip. Then those details were applied to the strip on the back of a different cared.”

     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

1% to 20% of those attacked by Phishing scams become victims. Phishers uses fraudulent E-mails and web sites that are so close to the real thing that many consumers are fooled by the copied images, links and texts that are often from the legitimate web site that the consumer thinks they are visiting. The Phishers are after your personal information; usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, home addresses, social security number, pretty much anything that can help open false accounts or empty your already existing accounts.

A. Summary: Now that you are armed with more knowledge of how to protect yourself, and take action, you can make identity thieves’ jobs more difficult.

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

“Identity theft: the fraudulent practice of using another person's name and personal information to obtain credit, loans, etc.” In 2014, there were around 95,000 reports of identity theft in the UK alone. However, that enormous figure rose even further in 2015 to a spine-chilling 148,000 - causing identity theft to rise by 58% in one year alone. Someone new becomes a target every day. Every day, someone loses their individuality. Every day, someone gains an online twin. These so-called