Impacts Of Identity Theft

Identity Theft

Introduction

Twenty years ago, the word “identity theft” was little known and used. Today, the term is widely recognized and has been linked to occurrences that have captured media, public, and government attention and has become a grave social issue. Identity theft is often described in alarming terms such as “the felony of the new millennium,” and “nightmare of identity theft” (CIPICC, 2007). Identity theft has grown into one of the most widespread forms of white collar crime with financial distress and personal traumatic impacts that can be long lasting. Therefore, what is this crime of the new millennium? Identity theft refers to stealing someone 's identity through pretending to be him or her (CIPICC, 2007). The identity

Financially, identity theft can extensively damage unsuspecting victim’s credit rating in case the imposter runs up charges on their account. Usually, this entails opening and using new credit card accounts using the victim’s name, opening bank account in the victim’s name on which bad checks are written, and obtaining counterfeit credit or debit cards or cheques to drain the victim’s bank account electronically. Also, they may take insurance policy or an auto loan in the victim’s name.

Criminally, identity thieves can commit crimes in the victim 's name and bypass the negative impact on their criminal record. Consequently, unknown criminal records may be created for the victims, such as involvement in illegal activities like drug trafficking. Once these criminal records are established, and the court dates set up, the identity thieves fail to honor the court date, and this results in a warrant being issued in the victim’s name. Some identity theft victims usually find it very difficult to clear their name once the criminal records are created. In some cases, the victims have lost jobs and even landed in

For consumers who usually fall victims by plainly presenting their login credentials or personal information to the identity thieves after being tricked should guard their personal identifiers. This is the most familiar intervention strategy for consumers (Giles, 2010). People should also avoid identifying themselves unnecessarily as this can partially mitigate identity theft. Maintaining computer security helps to prevent electronic identity theft through hacking, phishing or malware (Hoofnagle, 2007). People are cautioned from giving out personal information over the phone or social media platforms. Also, people are advised only to use secure websites to make online financial transactions (Giles, 2010). Organizations are legally required to protect people’s personal information. Proper corporate diligence standards, such as shredding confidential information before disposing of into dumpsters and ensuring sufficient network security, are