A brief revue of the history of the credit card is also in order since the use of "plastic" money has certainly contributed to the identity theft crisis. Past and current legislation will be analyzed regarding this new crime in both its cyber and analog presentations. Lastly, an opinion and possible suggestions for the consumer to help safeguard their identity as well as what government and corporate institutions can do to not only help the consumer avoid identify theft, but if it has occurred, to assist them in rectifying the situation before too much damage is done.
What is Identity Theft? The encyclopedic definition of identity theft is the use of another person's identity, i.e. financial, personal, geographic or other source, to commit fraud or other types of misrepresentation. By using another person's social security number, driver's license number, date of birth, address, online information one may open bank accounts, apply for loans and credit cards, get a cell phone and so on. In addition to financial loss that can result from identity theft, by using another's identity the credit history and even the legal history of the victim can be damaged in the extreme. ("Identity Theft," 2007)
According to the Identity Theft and Assumption Act of 1998, identity theft (ID theft), occurs when someone is "knowingly transferring or using, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, in the unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law." It is a federal crime. (Alt, 2007, p. 67)
Another form of identity theft that is for the most part non-financial is referred to as Criminal Identity theft. This occurs when someone gives another person's ID to a policeman or other law enforcement official when they are being arrested. This allows the perpetrator to use a clean citizen's record to make it appear as if they are committing a first offence. This often reduces the punishment but also goes on the arrest record of the honest citizen who is the victim. The frequency of identity theft increased markedly beginning in the late 1990s due to the computerization of records and the ability to use another's personal information anonymously and virtually without any prosecution at the time over the Internet. ("Identity Theft," 2007) until very recently, the only loss likely to occur -- the financial sort -- was a crime without a face, unless you happened to be a hapless, also somewhat invisible, victim. Known as identity theft, it's the practice of taking over another's financial life that's bilking the system out of millions -- and it shows no signs of stopping. Last year [2000], there were an estimated 500,000 cases annually at an average cost of $17,000 per victim, according to statistics compiled by the Federal Trade Commission. (Bielski, 2001, p. 27)
That number has been on the rise.
Other forms of Identity Theft are bank fraud, phone & utilities fraud, job related misrepresentation, consumer fraud, government documents and benefits fraud. Medicare, Medicaid and other health insurance related fraud is also on the increase. (Alt, 2007, p. 68) Furthermore, once someone has stolen an Identity, the victim usually experiences more than one type of fraud regarding their personal information as the following figure illustrates:
The areas of overlap indicate multiple intrusions of identity theft. Furthermore, 58.9% of all victims experienced the misuse of an existing credit card. A total of 48.6% of victims experienced the misuse of existing accounts other than existing credit card accounts and 21.9% of victims had their personal information used to open a new account or commit some other kind of fraud. 38.1% of all victims the misuse of an existing credit card was the only form of ID theft suffered, and approximately one-third of victims who experienced the misuse of an existing credit card also experienced another type of ID theft. (Federal Trade Commission, 2007 13)
Identity theft, as has been mentioned, is an old crime. Prior to computers and most forms of organized governments and the science of photography, it was also a quite violent crime. Nefarious persons would murder and then assume the identity of their victims, move to another district or country where their victim was not known and use their good name to settle into a new life. As time went on certain forms of ID were standardized, passports adopted, etc. And it became harder to completely impersonate another human being. It could still be done, but with a bit less impunity. In...
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