Identity Theft

Sara Hare Barratt

COMM-2500-400-F15

Identity Theft

There is serious crime that is victimizing millions of people in the United States
yearly. It is a faceless crime that leaves people in financial ruin and emotionally
vulnerable. It is a crime that can happen to anyone, and that leaves its victims lives in
shambles. This crime I am speaking of is identity theft. The crime rate for identity theft
is at an all-time high, and many believe this is due to technological advances, the up
rise in social media and online networking, and plain negligence in protecting our
personal information. So what exactly is identity theft and how is it effecting our
society?
According to Odysseas Papadimitriou, the CEO of WalletHub, identity theft
occurs when someone gains unauthorized access to your personally identifying
information such as your name, your Social Security Number, or your bank account
information. They then use your info to commit fraud or other serious crimes.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 9 million people in the U.S. have
their identities are stolen each year. Simply put, every two seconds in America
someone has their identity stolen. Five percent of people over the age of 16 fell victim
to identity theft in 2006 and 2007, leading to $17 billion in financial losses, according to
the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. In other words, each instance of identity theft
carried a $10,000 price tag, stated Papadimitriou. Its clear that this crime has swept
the nation and is leaving devastation in its wake.
There are five different types of identity theft that are most common in the United
States according to Rod Rosenstein of the Department of Justice. The first is Criminal
Identity Theft. This is where thieves commit crimes while using your identity. The
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second type of identity theft is Identity Cloning, which is when an imposter obtains key
pieces of personal information in order to impersonate someone else. The third type is
Medical Identity theft. This is where the fraudster gains illegal access and use of
someone's personally identifiable information to fraudulently obtain medical services,
prescription drugs or medical insurance coverage. The fourth type is Financial Identity
theft and occurs when a thief steals an individual's personal identity and commits a
crime that results in financial injury to the victim. The last type of identity theft is
Synthetic Identity Theft. This is fraud that involves the use of a fictitious identity. Identity
thieves create new identities using a combination of real and fabricated information, or
sometimes entirely fictitious information. Now you are familiar with what identity theft is,
Im going to jump right into the effects it has on society.
So who does identity theft effect? Donna Fuscaldo, a financial advisor and
freelance writer at BankNet says there are five groups of people at greater risk of
becoming a victim of this crime. The first group are social media users. The whole
concept of social networking services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and
Instagram is to share information with others people in your network. However, people
need to be selective of who they share this information with, and restrict is to friends,
relatives, colleagues and so on. It is when you are not cautious that fraudsters will "like"
what you're posting and make you a victim. "It's partly the over-sharing factor and partly
the targeting factor by criminals," says Fuscaldo. I am amazed every day at the
personal information people will post on Facebook, and you put yourself at risk by
posting personal information such as your date of birth or address. It is best to protect
yourself, be stingy with what you reveal about yourself and your family, and think about
who'll be reading your updates, comments and tweets.
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The second group most effected by identity theft are people who frequently use
credit or debit cards. Paying with Credit Cards makes you exposed and can make you
more vulnerable to a data breach. According to Denise Richardson, a Consumer
Advocate and Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist, Data breaches were a major
cause of identity theft in 2011, with several high-profile data breaches resulting in the
personal information of hundreds of millions of consumers being stolen by hackers.
Another thing to keep in mind is that debit card are especially risky as they dont the
extra layers of fraud protection you get with credit cards. Furthermore, many people are
careless about keeping their personal pin number private.
The third group is mobile phone users. This is a fairly new target group, and the
primary mistake made is the lack of sufficient password protection. Donna Fuscaldo
stated, Only about one-third of people put a password on their phone. It is a simple
way to protect yourself and your sensitive information, however many people dont want
to bother with the hassle. With the advancement in technology in this area such as
fingerprint recognition people should have no trouble securing their phones.
Unfortunately every time there is a technological breakthrough the hackers and
fraudsters arent far behind. For example, many don't give a second thought to using
public wireless hot spots, but sometimes those are set up by criminals who use free
WiFi to capture sensitive data and hack into mobile devices.
The last two groups that are high risk are children and the wealthy. One study
found there are more than 140,000 cases of identity theft involving children every year,
the main reason being that kids go unmonitored for years, giving criminals plenty of time
to damage a child's credit and identity. The reason the criminals get away with this is
because the Social Security number has yet to be filed with any credit agencies,

Fuscaldo stated. Children are not on the radar yet and are an easy target for
criminals. As for the wealthy, people with high incomes are more at risk simply because
they tend to have more credit and more accounts, putting sensitive information in lots of
different places. So now that you are familiar with who is the most targeted by this
crime, lets talk about the effect having your identity stolen can have on a person.
Having your Identity stolen can effect a person both financially and legally. In
Sheyna Steiners article The Dangers of Identity Theft she discusses the story of a
woman who has her identity stolen by an illegal immigrant. The thief became employed
under the womans name, opened multiple lines of credit and eventually even
purchased a house. The fraudster also got two DUIs in two different states before she
was caught and deported. In the end, the woman whose identity she stole was left to
clean up the mess that had been created by a criminal who will most likely just come
back to the U.S. and do it all over again to another innocent person. Rod Rosenstein
discuses in his article Identity Theft: Coordination Can Defeat the Modern-Day King
and Duke that adverse information connected to their names, social security numbers
and addresses in credit report files and other databases may compromise their ability to
obtain credit and even employment. While many fraudulent transactions are refunded
by the financial institution, the process can be time consuming causing unnecessary
stress and hardships on the victim.
And as if being financially effected by this terrible crime wouldnt be bad enough,
many people are effected legally as well. As in the example of the woman I discussed
earlier, the criminal who stole her identity managed to get two DUIs in the womans
name that went on her criminal record. Rosenstein says, Because law enforcement
officials believe you are the actual criminal, you could be arrested and jailed for a crime
you know nothing about. People who are lucky can clear their name and their criminal
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record, but those less fortunate might actually have to serve time for a crime they did
not commit. Other less major legal consequences would be collection agencies coming
after the victim for unpaid debt and the government garnishing your wages or placing
liens on your personal assets.
Identity theft can have a devastating psychological and emotional effect on
its victims. In Marisa Salcines article A Lasting Impact: The Emotional Toll of
Identity Theft she states, First, many victims suffer financial stress. Second,
identity theft victims may experience similar emotional effects as victims of
violent crimes, ranging from anxiety to emotional volatility. Victims often
experience emotional effects and exhibit signs of grief similar to depression and
anxiety. Victims can suffer from sleeplessness, a lack of appetite, a loss of
motivation, and many turn to self-medicating with alcohol or other substances.
They tend to lose self-assurance in areas where they typically had confidence.
Salcines says, Identity theft typically comes as a shock, it has an assaulting
quality. The effects can be life-altering, impacting the victims health, emotional
well-being, and their relationships with others. Because identity theft is an
invasive and faceless crime, it is very difficult for a victim to regain control or ever
have closure.
In closing, I feel it is safe to say that identity theft is a merciless crime that
leaves a path a devastation in its wake. With more and more consumer
information readily available through the Internet, its fair to wonder what the
future holds for our financial security. Will sophisticated fraudsters be able to
overcome advances in voice and fingerprint recognition as technology
advances? Will financial institutions continue to eat the losses deriving from

unauthorized transactions, or will liability shift more to the consumer at some

point? These are all great questions and ones we need to be asking to further
prevent this devastating crime.

Bibliography

Fuscaldo, Donna. 5 Groups at Greater Risk of Identity Theft. Bankrate. Bankrate, 14

Aug 2012. Web. 01 Dec 2015
Papadimitriou, Odysseas. Identity Theft: What It Is, How It Happens & the Best
Protection. WalletHub. Evolution Finance, Inc, 18 May 2015. Web. 03 Dec 2015

Richardson, Denise. New Study: Identity Theft Crimes Advance with Technology. Give
Me Back My Credit. Give Me Back My Credit, 26 Feb 2012. Web. 08 Dec 2015
Rosenstein, Rod J. Identity Theft: Coordination Can Defeat the Modern-Day King
and Duke. Identity Theft. U.S.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 08 July 2015.
Web. 01Dec 2015
Salcines, Marisa. A Lasting Impact: The Emotional Toll of Identity Theft. Personal
Solutions. Equifax, 01 Feb 2015. Web. 05 Dec 2015

Steiner, Sheyna. The Dangers of Identity Theft. Bankrate. Bankrate, 03 Aug 2013.
Web. 02 Dec 2015