Essay on Technology, Privacy and Credit Card Fraud

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.

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

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

An Internet crime can be a developmental scheme by the perpetrator, using different elements of the internet, and false representation to deprive a person's property or any interest (Kim et al., 2012). Although botched representation comes along, with the provision of misleading information or anonymity of data. In the recent years, there has been an increasing trust of consumers and businesses in the carrying out of particular actions. The amplifying usage comes along with the electronic communication during the act of major business rules. The increasingly rising internet crimes have come along with the global advancement that incorporates internet based conduct of business (Anderson et al., 2013). In the digital era the crime perpetrators, have absorbed the idea of shifting with times leading to the high number of the crimes. The reason that we cannot distinguish between the self additionally the risk trader comes in with internet crime given that a face-to-face communication and monitoring barrier. With that respect, the associated internet fraud has greatly affected by the general allowance, trust, and the usage. The paper will center on the effects attached to social cost, trust, and usage associated with internet fraud.

The article called, The End of Privacy by Adam L. Penenberg, demonstrates the easy access an intruder can have to someone’s private information in today’s digital world with just a few taps on the keyboard, and a phone. Making your private information unprotected and defenseless. Penenberg also describes transition from mainframe computers to desktop PCs making private information vulnerable. He also reveals that marketers and busybodies have more customer data than ever. He also illustrates the advances of search methods that cyber criminals have up their sleeve, how the misrepresent themselves in order to puncture through the credit bureaus, and the Federal reserve database, spilling out all of your financial information, social security,

Internet: Lack of Credibility, bad news, has become a big problem for privacy and often used for criminal acts.

“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.

Throughout the twenty-first century, technology has been one of the major focusses of people world-wide. Technology has even helped the unemployment rate by creating new jobs that wouldn’t have been around twenty years ago. Overall, technology is a helpful tool that is used to advance our knowledge of the world we live in. However, technology can also be used for wrong-doing. One example of how technology can be used for wrong-doing comes in the form of identity theft. According to Merriam Webster, identity theft is “the illegal use of someone’s personal identifying information in order to get money or credit.” For example, in modern-day America, companies are putting the personal information of their customers in the cloud, a data server that is connected to the internet. As technology advances, it is getting harder for companies to protect your personal information, and easier for identity thieves to hack into the cloud and steal it. Thankfully, President Obama is determined to strengthen cyber-security, and so he has introduced a series of proposals designed to aid the fight against identity theft. Firstly, Obama wants companies to share information with the government, in order to help the companies scan their servers for malicious software known as malware. Also, the president wants a system where customers will be alerted if their credit card is stolen, within a thirty

Just in the last decade, there has been a 29% increase in crimes committed against residents and a 22% increase for business losses due to online crimes (Meyer). Another large issue with technology is that they monitor an individualś every move, for example, a phone company, AT&T, was monitoring their customers phones to be able to “use your individual Web browsing information, like the search terms you enter and the Web pages you visit, to tailor ads and offers to your interests” (Silverman 282). Although the increase in such crimes can potentially cause many issues and obstacles for an individual, they do not physically harm anyone. Such crimes as internet fraud and any other crime that can be committed online, are all fixable and can be prevented. There are security systems that can help protect against frauds and prevent any more from occurring, which makes this issue much less crucial to stop. It is also possible to contact police and bankers to stop this from occurring and they can help you regain all of your losses. The government also has the NSA, the National Security Agency, to monitor all internet movements, which helps stop many of these issues. New technology has helped prevent an immense amount of street crimes, that without the internet, would have only continued to rise, while millions of people would have continued to be murdered.

Privacy threats are currently the biggest threat to National Security today. The threats are not only concerning to the government, however. An alarming 92% of Americans are concerned that the power grid may be vulnerable to a cyber-attack (Denholm). Although this is a more recent development to the cyber threats we have experienced, this is not the first time that privacy threats have stepped into the limelight as people are forced to watch their every online move.

Many users are subject of Security and Privacy on the Internet issue. The term "information" now is more used when defining a special product or article of trade which could be bought, sold, exchanged, etc. Often the price of information is higher many times than the cost of the very computers and technologies where it is functioning. Naturally it raises the need of protecting information from unauthorized access, theft, destruction, and other crimes. However, many users do not realize that they risk their security and privacy online.

Technology has really changed the ways of paying, we can easily buy something online by clicking one bottom of our smartphone, or purchasing a car by swiping our credit card. In another word, modern day financial and identical information are just bunch numbers and letters stored in the digital world. Unlike our unique appearances or finger prints, the numerical information such as our password, credit card numbers and social security numbers can be used for financial gain by some criminals, the identity theft. The United States Department of Justice defines Identity theft as “all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception,

As citizens of America we are all entitled to our rights of privacy. When something threatens this guaranteed privacy we tend to take extra precautions to prohibit prolonged violation. As the advancing world of technology continues to grow and expand, so do the amount of cases involving privacy invasion. Technology drives these privacy-invading crimes; however, crime also drives technology, creating a vicious cycle. Without technology an invader could not enter that of a stranger’s life. Conversely, without technology that same criminal would evade the law enforcers. So does technology protect citizens’ privacy, or does it expose one’s entire life? In regards to this question, one must

The agencies employed by governments to police the web in order to protect the vulnerable have seen an increase in child pornography and online fraud. The speed at which information can be distributed and the number of people that can be reached attracts those that are intent on causing harm. The term “cybercrime” is becoming more widely used. The financial gains that can be made and the anonymity the internet can provide, make the virtual world of cyberspace a haven for criminals. Although the internet has huge benefits for information gathering and social networking, in the wrong hands it can cause harm to the vulnerable and criminals are able to vanish into the underground with the use of false identities that are hard to track online.

Technology is great in so many ways. It has provided us with more communication access, access to knowledge at our finger tips, and so much more. Technology has overall made life easier, but maybe too easy, and has made things a lot less private. This results in us having to be extra careful with security on the internet. Internet security is important to protect our privacy, protect us from fraud, and from viruses that could destroy a piece of our technology. Internet privacy and security may be different but share a responsibility, but it is up to us to take personal responsibility to protect ourselves on the internet. We should pick unique, carful passwords, and never share this sensitive information, and encrypt our data when online.