Identity the ftre written Essay

Introduction Identity Theft is considered to be major problem which has affected thousands, more than 9 million victims of credit identity theft were reported in 2003, it was estimated that the victims were deprived of more than 52 billion dollars through identity theft; the victims included established businesses and individuals. It has been learnt that ‘sophisticated organized criminals’ (Richard, 2003) were involved in identity theft. Identity theft is considered as an intimate abuse that is mainly responsible for the financial losses of the grieved victims. Identity Theft is ‘appropriation of another’s personal information’ (Whilk, 2003), the purpose of the exercise is to practice fraud, and the victim is impersonated by the culprits in this practice. Identity theft is mainly linked with the leakage of confidential information that is later misused by the culprits to achieve benefit. It has been observed through past cases of Identity theft that most of the culprits have enjoyed access to the victim directly, or the information related to the victim through different dealings. The nature of the dealing is not particular, in some of the cases associates and acquaintances have been involved have been found guilty of Identity Theft. According to studies, Identity theft involves three parties that include the victim, the perpetrator and the creditor. Victim is the person who fells prey of the criminal activities without any knowledge of it; the perpetrator is the individual who impersonates the victim, and executes identity theft, the perpetrator in many of the cases have the access to the information of the victim. The creditor is the personal who is familiar to both the perpetrator and the victim, the creditor support and develop the perpetrator plan. In some of the cases the fourth party is ‘the source of the personal information that is being abused’ (Whilk, 2003). Types of identity theft Pretexting Pretexting is considered to be one of the forms of Identity Theft; in this exercise one culprit impersonates the victim, ‘such that one calls under the pretext being that person’ (Richard, 2003). The exercise is normally performed to secure personal information that includes telephone records, and details of bank accounts. According to studies it has been observed that in many of the cases the4 victims are unable to detect their identity theft through pretexting. Credit Card fraud The evolution of internet has made it easier for the interested customers to avail deals through internet. Credit card facilities launched by several banks have tried to facilitate the customers, and have provided them with an easy opportunity to avail deals through electronic transaction via credit card. Unfortunately the sharing of information has often been leaked, and many of the cases of identity theft have been reported. According to study, ‘running up charges on another’s credit card, or passing checks of another, is a form of identity theft’. Identity theft is this case is practiced through appropriation of ‘the signature, account number, and other aspects of another’s identity’, the purpose of the entire exercise is to secure financial benefits on other expenses through unethical and illegal practice. New account fraud Identity theft has been reported through malpractices related to the opening of new accounts. In such case, the criminal uses the identity of the victim, and then after fulfilling the formalities of credit card companies borrow the money. Criminal identity theft In some of the cases it has been reported that criminals impersonate innocent people after their arrest, and have managed to escape successfully. In such cases, the innocent individual then has criminal record, and in some of the cases arrest warrants have also been issued. It has been researched that it is easier for the criminal to link their personality with the victim, and later manage to escape, however in the police records many such individuals are blacklisted who have reported their ignorance about the incident, and have proved their presence in foreign country at the time of criminal activity. Identity Theft as Abuse In the survey which was conducted in 2004, it was observed that domestic abuse has direct relationship with Identity Theft; it was observed that more than 15 percent reported that ‘they were also victims of domestic harassment and abuse from the perpetrator’. Identity theft is also conducted by the strangers, and in some of the cases organized criminal networks are involved in such practices. The identity theft is solely conducted to achieve economic gains through false identity, there it is expected that an authority with financial stability is likely to be the victim, ‘domestic violence is sometimes accompanied by economic abuse, such as controlling access to wealth or destruction of property’ (John, 2002). Much because it is difficult to trace the culprit involve in the identity theft, the practice is considered to be extremely lucrative for the abuser, where as the malpractice has ‘long lasting and debilitating’ (Robert, 2003) impact on the status, repute and character of the victim. The survey revealed that, ‘identity theft victims spend a median of one hundred hours rectifying the damage, and lose thousands of dollars in lost wages and other expenses’ (John, 2002), more than 50 percent of the victim have complained that they are subjected to repeated interrogations and false implications by the law agencies even after 2 years after the revelation of their identity theft, whereas as some reported that they are subjected to false implications for more than decade. According to the Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for the Victims of Crime, explained that ‘stalking as a course of conduct directed at a specific person when one knows or should know that the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person; or suffer other emotional distress’ (Kristin, 2004), therefore stalking can be considered as a derivative of the stalking. The discussed surveillance, pretexting, and credit identity theft are directly related to stalking. Pretexting is not considered as an offence of extreme tribulation for the victim, the pretexter can only secure the right to access the accounts, and telephone record. Therefore the expected threats and damages through pretexter include the cancellation of the victim’s account, electric, gas and credit car accounts. However the cases of identity theft related to credit cards have subjected the victim under serious consequences. The survey report found that, ‘distress caused by credit identity theft is real, the victims report rage and anger; personal financial fears; fears for family financial safety; a sense of powerlessness and of feeling defiled’ (Kristin, 2004). Preventive Measures The measures to be necessarily adopted by the public to avoid any incident of victimization through identity theft include issuance of the credit report periodically. The public should also ensure that their credit limit is not too high, so that even in case of any manipulation the financial loss can be adjusted. The public should avail the scheme for the monitoring of their credit, through which unexpected financial dealings can be tracked. It has been learnt that Fair Credit Reporting Act has provided the public with an opportunity to place a fraud alert on their credit report, through such scheme the creditors have the right to access to verify their credit. References 1. Kristin Loberg. Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Name, Your Credit and Your Vital Information. Silver Lake Publishing. 2004. 2. Robert J. Hammond, Robert J. Hammond, Jr. Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Most Valuable Asset. Career Press. 2003. 3. John R. Vacca. Identity Theft. Career Press. 2002. 4. Whilk, Nathanael. Identity Theft: Preventing Consumer Terrorism: An Attitudinal Approach. Silver Lake Publishing 2003. 5. Richard M. Stana. Identity Theft: Prevalence & Cost Appear to Be Growing. Prentice Hall. 2003.