IDENTITY THEFT AFFECT ON SOCIETY

Identity Theft Affect On Society



Identity Theft Affect On Society

Introduction

Identity theft is the term used to explain crimes involving the illegal use of another individual's identity. Though the term “identity theft” is new, the act getting benefits by pretending to be a someone else is thousands of years old. Identity theft has been referred to by some as the crime of the new millennium. It can be accomplished anonymously, easily, with a variety of means, and the impact upon the victim can be devastating. Identity theft is simply the theft of identity information such as a name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), or a credit card number.

The mundane activities of a typical consumer during the course of a regular day may provide tremendous opportunities for an identity thief: purchasing gasoline, meals, clothes, or tickets to an athletic event; renting a car, a video, or home-improvement tools; purchasing gifts or trading stock on-line; receiving mail; or taking out the garbage or recycling. Any activity in which identity information is shared or made available to others creates an opportunity for identity theft.

Effects of Identity Theft

The effects of identity theft on a victim can be very damaging. Along with being harassed by creditors and having your credit rating ruined, it takes, on average, over two years before victims of identity theft can restore their credit ratings and an average of $3,000.00 to repair the damages and that is only if the criminal did not pass your information on to other thieves. Victims will be asked for additional identifying information when making purchases or applying for credit which can become very frustrating (www.privacyrights.org).

Identity theft occurs when someone steals personal information (name, social security, address, phone numbers, or passport number, and so on) and uses it to extort money from you. Identity theft is one of the leading and fastest growing crimes in the UK at the moment. Each year between 500,000 and 700,000 Londonn people face identity theft. London is known to have the highest number per capita in identity theft at 142.5 victims/100,000 people. Why is this? They have golf, the sun, and all the entertainment that happens there. This is like a hot bed for those that want to be thieves. Nevada comes in 2nd, California in 3rd, Texas, Colorado, Florida, New York, Washington, Oregon, and last but not least, Illinois in 10th place (www.privacyrights.org).

Theft was once the practice of snatching a purse or the obtaining of credit cards, identification or a break in but with the invention of the internet brings society to new level of virtual theft. The consumer's and business model is the reason of a weak defense against internet crimes. The willingness of credit approval, third parties information acquisitions, individual victim's unawareness of personal data leakage and the insecurity of internet transactions are all contributors in allowing identity theft to bring damage to society. Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing crimes in the world ...