Identify Theft
With the public emergence and worldwide explosion of the internet, Identity theft has become one of the most rapidly increasing crimes. What was once a personal crime requiring criminals to have some form of contact with the victim, if nothing more than rummaging through the trash, can now be done from as close as next door or as far away as across the world. No one is exempt from the possibility that they could be a victim. Identity theft has advanced so rapidly that government and law enforcement agencies have not been able to keep up with new legislature. Many states still do not view Identity theft as a crime. It is the victim who has to prove fraud exists. The judicial system that currently exists in this country states that any one accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. This is not the case with Identity theft. These people are considered guilty until such time as they can prove their innocence. Identity theft involves acquiring key pieces of someone's identifying information in order to impersonate them and commit various crimes in that person's name. Besides basic information like name, address and telephone number, identity thieves look for social security numbers, driver's license numbers, credit
In todays networked, computer society, criminals can learn the intimate details of almost anyone's financial records with nothing more than a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. The most widely used ID card is the drivers' license, which has often been issued without good verification of the person's identity. Generally, victims of credit and banking fraud will be liable for no more than the first $50 of the loss. Victims will have been left with a damaged reputation, bad credit reports and could spend months or even years trying to regain their financial health. Federal prosecutors work with federal investigative agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service to prosecute identity theft and fraud cases. This type of access is the negligence of the company which is permitting such access in an unmonitored environment. The result could be a flood of solicitation mail from catalog retailers, insurance marketers and credit card companies. The bottom line is: Protect your social security number at all costs. Future efforts for preventing identity theft will most likely come through technological advancements that incorporate some physical aspect of a person's body in order to verify identity. This information enables the identity thief to commit numerous forms of fraud: to go on spending sprees under the victim's name, to take over the victim's financial accounts, open new accounts, divert the victim's financial mail to the thief's address, apply for loans, credit cards, social benefits, rent apartments, establish services with utility companies, and more. Identity fraud schemes may also involve violations of other statutes, such as identification fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, or financial institution fraud. Also, crooks will watch for junk mail offering low rate credit cards. An example of Identity Fraud could consist of the selling of your name, address, Social Security number and other identifying information, including driver's license number, ATM number and other key pieces of an individual's identity. While some of this increase may be due to an increase in investigations of the crime, the most likely reason is the advancement of the Internet and technology in general. They will lift the solicitations from your mailbox, business, or trashcan and apply in your name, but write in a different address.
Common topics in this essay:
Secret Service,
,
Identity Fraud,
Social Security,
Deterrence Act,
identity theft,
Inspection Service,
credit card,
social security,
credit cards,
identity fraud,
Key Infrastructure,
example identity fraud,
pieces identification,
criminal forfeiture,
identity thief,
secret service,
address credit,
address credit card,
|