Thesis: Identity theft is one the most debilitating, disruptive, and prevalent crimes in the United States. It represents a very real threat to the lives of Americans, and each person needs to do everything they can to prevent it from happening to them.
Summary: Identity theft via electronic means is a relatively new phenomenon, but experts have claimed that it is the fastest-growing crime in the world. From 1999 to 2004, more than 27 million people in the US were victims of identity theft, which can include anything from fraudulent charges on credit card accounts to declaring bankruptcy in someone else's name. Identity theft can ruin an individual's credit history and is often very difficult to identify and prosecute; even when someone is prosecuted for the crime, the penalties have historically been minimal.
The best way to avoid identity theft is for individuals to take steps to protect their own credit accounts and financial profile. Consumers need to keep track of their personal information and be discerning about when they give it out and to whom. The penalties for identity theft are becoming harsher, but incidents of the crime can realistically only be curbed by preemptive action by citizens.
The Hottest New Crime
Although electronic identity theft is a new phenomenon, it has grown so exponentially that many people have already become desensitized to the terminology. What does it mean to have one's identity stolen, and how can one ever be expected to recover from such a crime? Identity theft occurs when another person's personal information or phony information is used by a criminal to either create a false identity or to appropriate a victim's identity for financial gain. This can ruin the victim's credit and create havoc in their life. When a victim's financial identity is plundered, the implications are severe in that a strong credit profile and financial identity can only be rebuilt with tremendous personal and financial cost.
Identity theft is an insidious crime, not least of all because victims usually don't know they have been targeted until well after the crime has occurred. On average, it takes about fourteen months for the individual to realize they have been victimized. By that time, the perpetrator has likely moved on to the next victim and the chances of catching the thief are slim. Furthermore, no one is immune to identity theft, because only minimal information is required to victimize someone, such as a social security or credit card number. Some experts on the issue of identity theft have even predicted that nearly everyone will be victimized by this crime at some point in their life. And while the financial losses of such a crime can be considerable, the more serious problem for most victims of identity theft is that their credit rating is ruined.
From 1999 to 2004, more than 27 million people in the US were victims of identity theft. Many experts have stated that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world. In fact, prior to 1998, most states didn't even have laws that specifically prohibited what came to be known as identity theft; yet in 2003, it was the second-most-reported crime in the country.
Individuals are not the only ones hurt by this crime. American businesses and financial institutions have lost billions of dollars through identity theft. This kind of loss by major companies and corporations also makes things worse for average citizens; when companies lose that much money in a single year, they inevitably will need to start charging more for their products and services in order to make up for the costs. Because the credit card companies are the entities with the most power, and the least to lose in a case of identity fraud, they have little incentive to take preemptive measures to prevent it. Many credit card companies continue to send "pre-approved" credit cards through the mail that can be easily intercepted and misused by identity thieves.
Despite the seriousness of these crimes, identity theft is rarely given the attention that higher profile, violent crimes are. Even when identity thieves are prosecuted, their crimes are considered property crimes, which carry more lenient penalties than personal crimes. In some cases, identity thieves have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet received only minimal penalties for their crimes. Unfortunately, identity theft is an extremely personal crime. Though identity theft is usually perpetrated for financial gain, it can sometimes be an act of personal revenge. Whatever the motives, however, the results are almost always the same: the victim's credit and reputation are destroyed, and along with it, their sense of security.
Technological Theft
The development of new technology has only made the act of stealing someone's identity easier. With most personal records now stored on computers and accessible from numerous centralized terminals, obtaining another person's personal information is a much faster, easier, and more streamlined process than it was in the past when physical copies of a particular document had to be tracked down and obtained. Websites that are designed to aid in providing legal information about individuals, including addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers, have sprung up in recent decades, and some of these lack sufficient security restrictions to safeguard the privacy of such personal information.
Landlords, for example, almost always run credit checks on their prospective tenants. But numerous websites that provide this credit inquiry service require no more proof or reassurance that the information obtained is correct or has been legally obtained than a check-box, which essentially relies on the honor system. Furthermore, identity thieves have even set up fraudulent websites or sent out phony emails in order to trick their victims into willingly providing personal information that the identity thieves then misuse for personal gain.
Other new technologies are also aiding would-be identity thieves. Radio frequency identification chips (RFIDs), which can store massive amounts of personal information, can be read by sensors as far away as 100 feet. RFIDs are making the identity thieves' lives easier by allowing them to pilfer information without even coming in contact with the person or the physical site of the information. A single RFID chip no larger than a postage stamp can store a person's birth date, social security number, address, and even photograph or electronic signature. Chips like these are already active, and the government is working on pilot programs to install these chips in driver's licenses, which would be a tremendous mistake. It's been demonstrated that the information stored on these chips can be read by simple, consumer devices at distances of as much as three feet.
The fact of the matter is that no matter how sophisticated the technology used to protect personal information, someone will eventually find a way around it. As defensive techniques advance, offensive techniques will follow suit. Thus, identity theft is a difficult problem to solve en masse. For most forms of identity theft, consumer responsibility is the best defense. If consumers only give out personal information to trusted individuals, businesses or websites, there is less chance that the information will be intercepted or misused.
Low-Tech Pilfering
Of course, there are always plenty of low-tech ways to steal someone's identity. "Shoulder-surfing" is one of the most common and has been in practice for years. It essentially involves watching someone covertly while they punch in numbers on a phone, and paying attention to any personal information, such as credit card numbers, that they might tell someone over the phone. This, too, has become easier to accomplish as technology advances, and instead of sequestering themselves in soundproof phone booths, people have their conversations on cell phones, out in the open, where anyone can listen in. Dumpster-diving is another common low-tech technique, which is why it is so important for consumers to shred sensitive documents such as "pre-approved" credit offers or other documents containing personal information before throwing them away.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, as long as identity theft is a profitable venture, it will not disappear. The only way consumers and businesses can deal with it is to learn how to prevent it and then take those preventative measures. The most important action anyone can take to prevent against identity theft is to be aware of how personal or financial information is disseminated and the ways in which such information is vulnerable to misuse. Although it is virtually impossible for individuals to never give out any personal information to anyone, heightened awareness about safeguarding this kind of sensitive information is critical because the risk of identity theft is great. Concerned Americans need to keep tabs on their bank accounts, their credit card statements, and their credit rating, and be careful about who has access to this information. The crime of identity theft is never going away, but through vigilance and awareness, Americans can protect themselves and their financial identities.