IDENTITY THEFT

Identity Theft

Identity Theft

Introduction

Identity theft has become one of the most rapidly increasing crimes in the United States. What was once a personal crime requiring criminals to have some form of contact with the victim, if nothing more than rummaging through the trash, can now be done from as close as next door or as far away as across the world. No one is exempt from the possibility that they could be a victim. Identity theft has advanced so rapidly that government and law enforcement agencies in the United States have not been able to keep up with new legislature. Many states still do not view Identity theft as a crime. It is the victim who has to prove fraud exists.

The judicial system that currently exists in this country states that any one accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. This is not the case with Identity theft. These people are considered guilty until such time as they can prove their innocence. One of the problems encountered in the ongoing battle against Identity theft is that at this time no standard definition currently exists. Identity is defined by Merriam Webster on-line as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual identification; the condition of being the same with something described or asserted i.e. establish the identity of stolen goods. Meriam Webster on-line also defines Theft as: the act of stealing; specifically: the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The best explanation of Identity theft was by one web site which defines it as: Identity theft involves acquiring key pieces of someone's identifying information in order to impersonate them and commit various crimes in that person's name.

Besides basic information like name, address and telephone number, identity thieves look for social insurance numbers, driver's license numbers, credit card and/or bank account numbers, as well as bank cards, telephone calling cards, birth certificates or passports. This information enables the identity thief to commit numerous forms of fraud: to go on spending sprees under the victim's name, to take over the victim's financial accounts, open new accounts, divert the victim's financial mail to the thief's address, apply for loans, credit cards, social benefits, rent apartments, establish services with utility companies, and more.

Literature Review

Criminals have developed from picking pockets to using more complicated methods of theft. Today, thieves can steal personal information and make use of other person's identity to commit many forms of fraud. Identity theft, the criminal act of assuming another person's name, address, social security number, and date of birth in order to entrust fraud, affects approximately 350,000 to 500,000 victims yearly.

“Fraud is deliberately deceiving a person or business in order to gain property or some legal right. Identity theft differs from other forms of less calculated deception”. (www.consumer.gov) For instance, a juvenile using someone else's driver's license to buy alcohol does not comprise identity theft. Although deliberate dishonesty exists, using someone else's license to make a buy ...