IDENTITY THEFT

Identity Theft

Identity Theft

Introduction

Identity theft tends to be interpreted by many as the act of seizing an individual's identity or pretending to be an individual in a public or private place. The motivation behind the act of indulging into identity theft is to access to certain resources or obtaining loans and other benefits on behalf of that person. The trend of Identity theft has elevated over the years and in the modern times it tends to creep in when an attacker, by computer or in person tries and gets your personal information and utilizes it illegally (Romanosky et al., 2011). Experts today renders it as one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, it won't be wrong to state that it is the enhanced version of the thefts in the past.

Since the technology has not been able to reach a position where it is cited by many as the fool proof, but the breaches in the whole context tends to allow the thieves to get access to an individual's credit card, debit, checks and other documents containing your personal data (Kunick & Posner. 2011). Identity theft—the theft or unauthorized use of personal or credit information—is a relatively new form of crime that can result in its victims having to spend thousands of dollars and years of their lives restoring their good names. Little research has been conducted on this crime, so it is not well understood (Roberds & Schreft, 2009).

This entry discusses the multiple definitions of identity theft, its prevalence and consequences, and legislative responses to it. It also presents findings from the first ongoing data collection of identity theft in the United States, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (Sullivan, 2009). Findings from 2005, the first full calendar year of data collection using the survey revealed that 5.5% of all U.S. households had experienced this crime (Roberds & Schreft, 2009).

Discussion and Analysis

Victimization in society results from many types of harmful behaviors committed by individuals or groups against other people. Behaviors considered negligent or abusive, or that otherwise are considered criminal in a particular place, often depends on the amount of harm inflicted, the technological means employed, and existing laws that forbid specific activities (Burkhalter & Crittenden, 2009). Technological means used to commit cyber offenses refers to a combination of networked systems, hardware devices, software tools, and methods that people use on the Internet. Modern information technology (IT) hardware like computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, and gaming devices can be used offline (in standalone mode), online, or wirelessly, from private or public places, in ways that are not easily recognized as illegal and that transcend more the one geopolitical or legal jurisdiction (Glithero, 2009).

In addition, illicit use of computing devices can facilitate many forms of traditional in-person crimes. To fully understand cyber and Internet offenses, it is necessary to consider (1) the ways in which computerized devices and telecommunications systems came to be increasingly used for illicit purposes, (2) the myriad forms of online ...