Explain Why It Is Important To Safeguard One's Personal Protective Information

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Identity theft is a crime in which a criminal obtains someone else’s personal protective information in order to commit fraud, deception or economic gain. In most cases an individual illegally obtains a person’s social security number and other identifiable data in order to make purchases and in severe cases completely taking on someone’s identity typically without that person knowing. Identity theft use to occur in the 1990s without the perpetrators getting into any trouble due to it not being a federal offense until 1998 when Congress made it a federal offense (Identity Theft, 2015). This paper will explain why it is important to safeguard one’s personal protective information and the issues someone can encounter if they are faced with identity theft.
Identity theft became a crime in the fall of 1998 when congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This act prohibits "knowingly transfer[ring] or us[ing], without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that …show more content…

It is as important to protect yourself offline as it is to protect yourself online as criminals can get to you in many different ways and utilize many different tools. Always be wary of who you give your information to such as providing your social security number or debit card number to a non-recognizable company over the telephone. Limit the amount of personal identifiable documents you take with you when traveling outdoors in the event someone steals your bag/ purse or wallet. Avoid throwing away important documents or anything that has your personal information on it due to individuals might go through your trash. It is best to shred any type of document you do not have any further use for than to risk losing one’s

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