IDENTITY THEFT

Identity Theft

Identity Theft

Introduction

Identity theft (also knows as Identity fraud) is when someone steals another person's identity so they could become that person. It can lead to illegal immigration, terrorism, espionage, or changing identity permanently. So far it's the fastest growing crime in the nation because not many people are caught. It is just another ordinary day while someone is checking their e-mail. In amongst the messages from mom, newsletters, and other items there is a message marked important. The e-mail is from their credit card company and they need to verify the information listed on the account. To make it easy, the credit card company provided a direct link in the e-mail. The link is clicked and the account is squared away. All is well again and the e-mail from mom can be resumed. Unfortunately, all is not well, as this person was just a target of a scam called “phishing” and they just quite possibly became a victim of identity theft(Freeman Mann 1997)

Identity theft in the computer world

Computers bring great convenience to our lives through online shopping and banking, but can also be dangerous because thieves put a high value on your personal and banking information. “In 2006 alone, identity theft cost consumers and businesses $49.3 billion” (Consumer Reports, 2007). Clearly identity theft is a serious problem for the consumer and business alike. There are three very important areas of identity theft; what is identity theft and how does it happen, how is personal information being safeguarded, and what are some ways to safeguard personal information(Hafner Markoff 1991).

According to the United States Department of Justice (2007), “Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” Like the example in the introduction, phishing is just one way of stealing a person's identity, but there are several other ways and it is not just limited to the Internet. Phishing works by getting someone to log in to a fraudulent web site to gain their information. The phishing e-mail looks exactly like it came from a legitimate business or government entity, instead it redirects to a site that will download a keystroke logger onto the computer while running in the background and then pick up personal information. It then sends it to most likely the highest bidder, quite possibly somewhere in Russia (Furnell 2007). Other electronic means of accessing electronic personal information is infecting computers with viruses to make them vulnerable to hacking. Social networking web sites are another popular tool in gaining valuable knowledge. Someone will pose as a new friend to and ask seemingly innocent questions when their goal is to become the fake you.

Any thief could gain someone's personal information from just discarded bank statement or from a pick pocketed wallet. Official correspondence from banks and local, state, and the federal government have the potential to ...