Social Media Evil

While identity theft was present in society previous to the appearance of the internet, this medium has provided thieves with an intriguing method to steal identities from people without even having to leave their house. "Today, more and more people engage in online financial activities such as shopping, banking, investing, and bill paying." (Understanding Identity Theft) While this reflects positively on people's lives by saving them significant time, it also exposes them to a world of

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.

The most common depiction of identity theft is the robbery of personal information for someone else’s monetary gain. Based on a range of information gathered from public and private resources, “Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year (Douglas).” Although literal identity theft can have substantial monetary consequences for its victims, figurative identity theft can have even greater ramifications for those that suffer from having their individuality, identity and self-confidence taken away from them.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes statistically according to the Federal Trade Commission. Roughly 27.3 million Americans have fallen victim to this form of theft/fraud. According to last year the loss of money for businesses and financial institutions are in the billions and with consumers out of pocket expenses has been about 5 billion dollars. "Identity theft" refers to crimes in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data (i.e., name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, and your financial identity— credit card, bank account and phone-card numbers) in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain (to obtain money or

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing cybercrimes being conducted in today’s society. It is almost impossible to detect until it is too late. With the advancement of technology it can happen from anywhere in the world, from a remote village in Vietnam to the computer smart kid that lives down the street. And it is being done with as little as $40 dollars in equipment, which is turned into millions of dollars in theft and return. The procurement and safe keeping of who you are is a not a tough battle, and

Identity theft is a particularly heinous crime as it impacts so many people and brings such a burden upon the global economy. During 2012, in the United States alone, more than sixteen million people had their identity stolen and the financial impact reached nearly 25 billion dollars (Rotter, 2014). Expectations are that costs will exceed one hundred billion in the United States and globally the ramifications will be multitudes higher.

With the rise in the need for the convenience of online shopping and bill pay, identity theft has become a more prevalent issue around the world. Identity theft is a type of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud of deception, typically for economic gain (Identity Theft). In 2009, approximately 13.9 million Americans were victims of some form of identity theft (Theoharis). Studies have shown that one out of every 20 consumers will fall victim to identity crimes this year (Theoharis). Death and taxes have always been a certain part of life, but with the rise of online shopping identity theft has become almost as

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime that continues to claim thousands of victims each year. It is the deliberate use of someone else 's identity without their knowledge or consent to gain a financial advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person 's name, and perhaps to the other person 's disadvantage or loss. (Hoofnagle, 2007) According to the Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre, in 2008 the cost of identity theft in Canada was staggering $7.2 billion dollars and affected approximately 2.25 million people (representing 9.1 per cent of the population). (Identity Theft, n.d.) The victims spend an average of 600 hours recovering from identity

“8.6 million households (8.6%) experienced some form of Identity theft in 2010”, according to FTC. Research from all around the world reveals that identity theft affects millions of people per year, giving victims a numerous amount of hours and money in identity recovery and repair. In fact, in some cases, identity thieves are able to suppose an unaware person’s identity entirely, acquiring someone’s identification with their name and even often committing crimes as that person.

This report will discuss the types of Identity theft in Australia. It will examine the extent of Identity theft and discuss the actions that need to take place in response to being a victim of Identity theft. Identity theft is defined as ‘the theft and use of personal identifying information of an actual person’. There are many ways to have an identity stolen, the most common being physical theft of identifying personal information, via means such as dumpster diving or online theft such as email and phone calling. Victims are encouraged to immediately report acts of identity theft, whether it is to the police or bank etc.

Over the last few decades, the world has witnessed a global revolution, unleashed by technological innovations and catalyzed by market forces. Yet even as technology has made the world more efficient, it has also made the world vulnerable to threats posed by malicious actors. These actors have perpetrated innumerable crimes and the government struggles to combat these modern criminals. One threat stands out as particularly frightening: identity theft. The ability of a criminal to completely co-opt the identity of another person strikes at the very core of individuality. No longer can the victim be assured that his place in the world is singular and unique, dependent on his actions alone; rather, he is subject to

Only within the past few years have there even been reliable estimates of the incidence of identity theft. “The first thorough survey of the extent of identity theft was conducted for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2003. A similar survey, involving interviews with slightly more than 4,900 randomly selected individuals, was conducted for the commission between March and June 2006” (Anderson, Durbin, & Salinger. ID Theft). Victims of identity theft are commonplace and the resulting monetary losses have been impressive. However, this attention to identity theft is a fairly new phenomenon. With its immense growth, attention and precedence, cyber-criminals are able to infiltrate and depreciate the integral infrastructure of our society which creates a cultural lapse through the declination of economic and cultural growth and double jeopardize an already unstable system to the brink of its destruction. Research has suggested that victims of identity theft spend an average of $1,500 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours per incident of identity theft in order to resolve the many problems caused by identity

Our identity is something we often take for granted. We live our lives with a preconceived notion that our identity cannot be taken away from us. It does not occur to us that one day we could be stripped of who we are, whether it be literally or metaphorically. Most people think of identity theft in its literal form. They think of identity theft financially, where someone had their social security number compromised, credit card information stolen, driver’s license reproduced, etc. Unfortunately, financial identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. According to a 2012 study, in the United States alone, “7% of all households were affected by identity theft victimization” (Reyns). Despite the magnitude of financial identity theft, metaphorical identity theft is just as widespread. Metaphorical identity theft, unlike literal identity theft can be committed by anyone, even yourself. While literal identity theft often affects your bank account, those affected by metaphorical identity theft lose something far greater, they lose themselves.

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.

Stealing one’s identity and also stealing one’s person information actually continues to occur in leaps and bounds every year. These occurrences cause customers to lose large amounts of money as well as it is costing them their privacy. Consumers then become distraught with the companies that collected their personal information which actually led to the data breach and discipline them in the market (Beckett, 2014, p. para.1)