Identity Theft - Research Paper Example

Identity Theft Introduction – Identity Theft Identity theft refers to the stealing of someone’s identity. In this form of stealing, one person pretends to be some other person using his identity as a means to access to some resources or obtain other kinds of benefits through the identity or name of that person. The person’s whose identity is being stolen or used by another is the victim and the person who uses it is the identity thief. The victim may face negative consequences due to the actions of the thief and thus identity theft can be dangerous, risky, and harmful. The identity thief usually would steal the name, number, credit card number, or other types of information about the person to commit a crime or fraud (Hoffman & McGinley, 2010). This paper will comprehensively discuss the key concepts of this crime, its types, and how it can be prevented. Identity theft was a term which was introduced in 1964. It may not be literally possible to steal someone’s identity thus the terms used are identity fraud and impersonation. It is also difficult to determine a link between identity theft and data breaches because it is not always known that how the personal information was accessed. Identity fraud is usually the result of identity theft. Types of Identity Theft Identity theft can be of several types and in order to know what steps to take about it, the victim must first know what type of identity theft has been committed. Financial Identity Theft: This is the most common type of identity theft which takes place. Whenever an identity theft takes place, the first reason which comes to mind is due to financial reasons. Money is the main resource after which everyone is running nowadays. Through this type of identity theft, the thief gains financial benefit in the name of the victim. The thief may get access to the victim’s credit cards, loans, bank details, or other financial details and use them for his personal economic benefit. Medical Identity Theft: Medical identity theft is one of the most dangerous forms of identity theft as recorded by the WHO that it’s the type of crime which can kill. This type of identity theft is the hardest to recover. The definition of medical identity theft mentioned by researcher Pam Dixon in her report was that this theft occurs when the thief takes advantage of medical care through the name or identity of the victim. There is a risk of financial harm in this type of theft as well just like all other types but in addition there are risks of the thief’s medical history to be added to the permanent medical records of the victim. Inaccurate information is difficult to correct from these medical records and may be dangerous in future when the doctors rely on the wrong information to deliver the victim appropriate medical care. The ways to deal with the medical identity theft are different than other types of identity theft (Collins, 2005). Criminal Identity Theft: Criminal identity theft is another type of identity theft which is as difficult as medical identity theft when it comes to resolving the problem. Criminal identity theft has the tendency to come back and haunt the victim at any point of time even after the victim thinks the problem has been resolved. An example is when a thief who has stolen the victim’s identity is caught speeding. The police officer who catches him will probably suspend the license and registration. There may also be a warrant for arrest if the thief misuses the identity to commit intense criminal activities. Criminal identity theft can become a trouble for the victims as saying ‘it was not me’ is simply not enough. The criminal who has stolen the identity of someone else and has committed a crime under the victim’s name usually submits himself to the police identifying himself as someone else. The charges which are made are under the name of the victim and the actual criminal would be off the hook. Victims learn about such incidents when they receive summons of the court, or discover their licenses have been cancelled or through background checks. The criminal record can be very difficult to clear off and requires steps which involve the jurisdiction of the crime and determining the true identity of the person who committed the crime (Alder, Mullen & Long, 2005). Synthetic Identity Theft: This type of identity theft is the latest variation in identity theft under which the thief completely or partially fabricates the identity of a person. The thief would take information partly from several victims and combine it to form a new identity which doesn’t belong to a specific person. However, all the victims are affected by the consequences of this type of theft. A common technique used in this type is combining the real social security number of a victim which the name which is associated to another person. Such types of identity thefts are very difficult and challenging to track and it shows differently in each person’s report. Child Identity Theft: Children are becoming a big target of the identity theft. In recent times, child identity theft has become a major issue which has captured the attention of many. Practically looking at it, an eight year old would not be looking at his credit for another eight years until they plan to get insurance or a car. In these cases, the thief who commits the identity theft is usually a family member or a friend. This type of theft occurs when the social security number of the minor is used by the thief for his personal gains. Children are targeted because they usually don’t have information associated to their social security numbers. Thieves use these to obtain credit, driver license and can even buy houses. It is very difficult to detect this type of theft and it may remain uncovered for years (Record, 2008). Prevention of Identity Theft Victims of identity theft and fraud suffer greatly as it is highly challenging and nearly impossible to restore their good records and reputation about their financial, personal, or criminal status. In order to resolve the issues of criminal activities being committed under the name of someone who is innocent, the victim has to go through many challenging circumstances and it may actually take longer to fix than it took to the crime itself. There are many preventive techniques that people can and should adopt in order to minimize the risk of being a victim (Collins, 2005). Some basic steps should be taken by everyone, which can be remembered by the word ‘SCAM’. SCAM: S stands for stingy. One must be stingy on using their personal information and providing it to others. It must be ensured that the person being given access to personal information is trustable. It doesn’t matter where the person belongs to. At home, you must adopt an approach of need to know about every aspect of your personal information. Usually credit card companies need the client’s mother’s name in order to verify the identity of the client. If someone calls saying he is from the bank and needs to know your information, it might be someone who wants that information for their personal benefit. Also, bank checks must have little or no information printed on them because the more information printed on them, the more the risk of identity theft increases when you hand them over to people. Other ways to stay safe form identity theft is to avoid phone calls about winning major prizes or credit cards. Such people ask for personal information such as credit card numbers or Social Security number and then use them for different means. Often people receive mails at their local post offices when they are away which can increase the risk of identity theft. In such situations, a trusted member of the family or neighbors should be contacted to hold the mails until the person addressed doesn’t come back. People must also never give their personal information to anyone from a public phone booth or area where passerby are able to listen what conversation is being made. C stands for check. Checks must be made on financial information regularly to ensure what should and shouldn’t be there. Data that should be there are the monthly statements of all credit card accounts with the detailed list of transactions that have been made. If a person doesn’t receive these monthly statements or they are not for the relevant accounts, the financial institution must be informed about it immediately. Sometimes there may be other email addresses which are assigned to a person’s financial institutions. These should be checked frequently and any addresses which are not authorized should be removed. The person must make sure that all copies of financial transactions are being recorded so that it becomes easier to determine the ones which were fraudulent. If a person finds financial transactions that have unauthorized finances or debits, it must immediately be informed to the financial institution and checks must be made to find out as quickly as possible. The biggest way to be safe from identity theft is to check all financial transactions in detail instead of a quick glance. A stands for ask. Financial reports and credit reports must be asked for periodically. All the financial accounts under the person’s name should be checked and unauthorized transactions should be indicated to avoid problems that may occur in the long run when it becomes difficult to turn back. M stands for maintain. Maintaining financial and banking accounts is the most important part. Even though it is the duty of the financial institutions to check and maintain the debits, credits, and other activities, it is also important for the account holder to keep a check and maintain the records on a personal basis. This way it becomes easier to compare and examine where the problem lies. Even after all the four steps, people commonly become victims of identity theft (Record, 2008). Taking Actions: If a person living in the United States has been victimized of identity theft, there are a number of steps that can be taken. The first major thing to do is to act on it immediately to reduce the risk on the financial accounts and personal funds, as well as to minimize the damage and return back in minimal time. There is a checklist of actions that should be taken prepared by the California Interest Research Group. These steps include contacting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in order to report the situation, calling the toll free numbers for situations of identity theft, or emailing to the Consumer Response Center of FTC. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act states that the FTC has the responsibility to receive and process the complaints that they receive from people who think they have been victimized, provide guidelines for help to those people and refer them to appropriate departments to help their complaints to be heard (Hammond & Preston, 2003). Other agencies which look into such matters include the Postal Inspection Service if there is a suspected change of address or use of mail for identity theft. The Social Security Administration is contacted if the victim suspects that their Social Security number is stolen. The Internet Revenue Service is contacted if it is suspected that there has been an improper use of a person’s identity for tax violations. The U.S. Department of Justice takes identity theft cases under many kinds of federal statutes. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act were passed in 1998 by the Congress (Record, 2008). Conclusion Thus, identity theft is a dangerous type of crime as it involves victimizing an innocent person to commit criminal or fraudulent activities which may be very challenging to resolve. The term identity theft covers all types of crimes in which a person obtains someone’s personal information with an intention to use it fraudulently or wrongly. Personal information such as credit card number, Social Security number, bank accounts, or other information can prove to be very dangerous if it falls in the wrong hands (Hammond & Preston, 2003). Thus, people in this time should keep a check, maintain, and protect their personal information as much as possible to avoid problems that are difficult or impossible to resolve. References Alder, R., Mullen, T. & Long, J. (2005). Stealing the Network: How to Own an Identity. London: Syngress Collins, J. (2005). Preventing Identity Theft in your Business: How to Protect Your Business, Customers, and Employees. NY: John Wiley & Sons Hammond, R. & Preston, K. (2003). Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Most Valuable Asset. Career Press Hoffman, S. & McGinley, T. (2010). Identity Theft: A Reference Handbook. London: ABC-CLIO Record, M. (2008). Protecting your Identity: A Practical Guide to Preventing Identity Theft and Its Damaging Consequences. NY: How to Books Read More