Identity Theft Myths

There is a thief that lurks around us everyday; this thief can attack in brad day light or in the darkest hour, and just about anywhere you may find yourself. This thief has the power to act in your name, make unlimited purchases, open up credit accounts and ruin your good name and credit all in the matter of seconds; if you are vulnerable enough, you might become his next victim. In many cases all he needs is your name and a social security number, and he has enough information to make you his next victim; if you don’t believe me then ask the millions of Americans that became victim’s, or just ask me. The thief that I am talking about is identity theft. Identity theft is a

Every minute, about nineteen people fall victim to identity theft. Identity theft is the fraudulent use of a person’s private information; typically for financial gain. Frank Abagnale Jr. was notorious for using various identities to receive numerous benefits. Abagnale’s identity wavered depending on the career he chose. This bewildered investigators and caused the prolonged search for Frank Abagnale Jr. As technology advances; identity theft will continue to flourish throughout numerous infrastructures. Identity theft hastily becoming one of the largest growing crimes in America. However, there are numerous ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim to this malicious threat. By inspecting your purchases on the internet, keeping your personal information safe,

There is no “sure” way to stop identity theft from happening to someone. There are only measures that may make it harder for thieves to steal someone’s identity because nothing is foolproof. People can shred their important documents after they’re done with them to help prevent their identity to be stolen via dumpster diving, but the thief may find all the shreds and put them together just like a puzzle. The odds of this happening are slim, but there is still a chance, a chance lower than just throwing it out. People should make sure to not use ATMs and not to do personal banking in public, but this will only slow down a thief who is determined to steal someone’s identity. Once a thief is determined to steal someone’s identity and only their identity, there are not many obstacles stopping him/her.

Becoming the victim of identity theft is never something that is a pleasant experience. Along with the fear regarding the actual event, there is also the aftermath that must be considered. It can sometimes take years to completely see the full effects of identity theft, but by learning more about the different types, it is much easier to get started making repairs.

Identity theft is the least understood of all problems, though this assumption of our identities for fraudulent purposes is the most alarming of all problems. It is the most rapidly growing crime in the United States. It is quite complex, and this is how fraudsters work. A fraudster gets hold of your personal information, including your social security number and the numbers of your credit cards, among others. It is not so difficult if you are not careful. He/she assumes your identity, runs up astronomical bills, and leaves you holding the bag. This leaves you with a credit record that is totally ruined, and creditors at your door screaming for their money.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation with an estimated

The first thing is, what identity theft is. Identity theft is a term that is used to refer to

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,

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

Identity theft has not had a clear definition. The unclear definition is due to the complexity of the facts regarding identity theft. Identity theft, also known as ‘the crime of the new millennium’ or white color theft has come to the public eyes due to the impacts of the act (Craats, 2005). Identity theft occurs when a person misappropriates another person’s information and uses it with the intention of gaining some particular advantages. In this case, a person means not only a human being but also a legal person such as a company (Craats, 2005). In most cases, the advantage gained is financial, for example, presuming identity of a person, taking their credit card and through deception, withdrawing money from their accounts. In U.S, the federal law defines identity theft as ‘knowingly transferring, holding, or using, without authorized right, a way of identification of another individual with the intent to undertake, aid any illegal activity that includes violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any national or local law.’ Identity theft has been said to be made easier due to globalization and lack of cyber borders (Giles 2010). Lack of cyber borders provides a ripe environment for identity thieves to function from within the state 's borders as well as from beyond.

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 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.

As one can see, stealing someone?s identity is a very easy thing and can also be done in a number of different ways.

Identity theft continues to be a problem in the United States, yet research on identity thieves is limited. Both the theoretical and empirical literature on identity theft is in their infancy. As a result, not surprisingly, not much is known about this crime and its victims.

The fact that each person has their own unique and different social security number is what makes is such a valuable piece of personal information. One must remember that the more people who see your social security number the more susceptible one becomes to identity theft (Bruce, 2003). Thus, the first and most important way to safeguard one's identity from theft is to protect one's social security number and to remember that by law very few businesses have the right to ask you for this number.