Identity Theft as the Most Important Crime of the 21st Century - Essay Example

Identity Theft Identity theft is up-and-coming as the most important crime of the 21st century. Identity theft is a term used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.1Identity theft can be broadly categorized as Financial Fraud and Criminal Activities. The most common forms of identity theft for Financial Fraud occur when someone obtains another person's social security number, driver's license number, date of birth, and the like and uses it to open a fraudulent bank, credit card, cellular telephone, or other account, or to obtain false loans. Criminal identity theft, the most common non-financial type, occurs when someone gives another's personal information to a law enforcement officer when he or she is arrested. In addition to the financial losses resulting from identity theft, the person whose personal information has been used will have an erroneous credit or criminal history that is often expensive and time-consuming to correct. This type of identity fraud involves taking on someone else's identity in order to commit a crime, enter a country, get special permits, hide one's own identity, or commit acts of terrorism. These criminal activities can include Computer and cyber crimes, Organized crime, Drug trafficking, Alien smuggling and money laundering. The incidences of identity theft augmented drastically beginning in the late 1990s due to the computerization of records and the capacity to use someone else's personal information incognito over the Internet. This scam has amplified in the last few years. According to a September 2003 survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission, an estimated 10 million people in the United States found out they were victims of identity theft in the previous year, much higher than the 500,000 to 750,000 victims estimated in 2001. Since all victims do not make the reporting of this fraud, these figures do not disclose the real rigorousness of this offense. Identity theft is likely to cause massive harm to people on individual basis as well as the state economy, darkening the consequences of usual crimes. It is very easy for criminals to steal identities. No one is immune from this crime. Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Sunil Dutta says, "Technology has simplified most scams. Anyone with a computer, printer, and scanner can falsify personal checks, credit cards, and various forms of identification. Fake ID templates are available on the Internet. Every day, countless credit card offers are mailed to consumers and credit card purchases are processed. Americans can open accounts, deposit money, and spend funds without speaking to a single person. Data that can be entered into a computer or on a telephone keypad are used to identify most customers."2 (Sunil, 2003) Stealing someone's identity actually requires very little effort. Names and mailing addresses of almost anyone can be found out online by paying a nominal amount. Similarly, for not a very high fee, Social Security numbers and employment information can be purchased on the Internet, all in a matter of a few seconds. The privacy has become endangered primarily due to the prevalence of high-speed computers and decryption software. The first and foremost reason that identity theft has become widespread these days is the ease with which one can find out Social Security numbers. Social Security numbers are used as identification and account numbers by many entities, in fact, some states put Social Security numbers on their drivers' licenses. Insurance companies, universities, utility companies, banks, brokerages, and even department stores often have records of Social Security numbers, resulting in a glut of places where our Social Security numbers are floating around; any thief can fish for them and use them to start new credit card accounts or apply for loans. In worst-case scenarios, someone may commit a crime in someone else's name and have the law enforcement searching for that original identity holder. Identity Thieves can obtain other people's Social Security number by stealing mail or sifting through the trash outside their residence. The mail and trash may contain copies of bills, financial account statements and tax notices, all holding personal information. Workers at realties, banks, small businesses, and auto dealerships have easy access to them. The identities can even also be stolen from hospital records, landlord's files, and employer's files, merchant databases or through hacking into commercial websites. Frequently, employees having right to use the information are provoked by offering bribe or a cut of the profits in trade for private information about other employees. The more refined the executor, the more money is stolen and the more people conned. Clerks can even put skimmers on the credit card machines that will record credit card information for later use. Temporary employees seem to be more recurrently occupied in identity theft indignity than permanent employees, basically because less background verifications are done on them. The credit industry, in its zeal for profit, has made it too easy for people to get credit. In fact credit issuers mail countless pre-approved offers of credit to consumers. Many of these pre-approved offers find their way into the hands of prowling identity thieves. "Nonhuman customer support via touch-tone telephone and computer requires many passwords or digital identification keys to access services, especially paying bills or making purchases online", says Sunil Dutta. Where this procedure offers the benefit of twenty-four hours a day business access, and saves companies a good deal of money, the impending damage is massive. The increase of identification keys has shaped a setting that is favorable and constructive for the crime of identity theft. Finding a person's identification key is much convenient and unproblematic than to attack or assault him. The identity thieve can validate himself to a computer system as another person with the right identification keys, and can take out money from the actual identity holder's account, transfer his/her assets from a stock portfolio, and even sell his/her house without actual person's knowledge. A more old-fashioned means of identity theft is to steal a purse or wallet. A few years ago, thieves were interested only in the cash inside the wallet; now the most valuable items in the stolen wallet are the Social Security number, ATM card, credit cards, bank checks, and any other items containing the owner's personal information. Identity thieves may also get personal information by posing over the phone, to be one's employer, loan officer, or landlord and saying they need to get his/her credit report. Unfortunately there are few safeguards for consumer protection in the credit reporting business. Identity thieves may hang around banks and watch transactions at automated teller machines to capture people's PIN. Criminals working in restaurants can download information from customer's credit card in seconds by swiping them in portable decoders or just simply copying down the numbers from the credit slip. Increasing use of public records posted on the Internet by courts and public agencies has also helped identity thieves. For those searching for jobs using the Internet, placing their resume on line can expose them to identity theft. Identity thieves are getting critical information from resumes, such as date of birth, driver's license, and Social Security numbers, with the least amount of effort. Criminals who have your identifying information typically call your credit card issuer and ask to change the mailing address on your account. This is easily accomplished, as most credit card companies ask only for account numbers and Social Security numbers as verification before changing information on your account. Some companies ask for your mother's maiden name before making a change, a piece of information that can be found easily. Once the impostor has changed the address, he is free to run up charges on your account. As the bills are going to a different address, it may take a month or two before you even realize that there might be some problem. The thief charges tens of thousands of dollars and doesn't pay the bills. Eventually the creditor closes the account and reports delinquency to the collection and credit agencies. Criminals can establish cellular phone accounts and open new bank accounts in the original person's name, drain all existing accounts, and even purchase cars by applying for auto loans in his/her name. The end result of stealing one's identity is that a criminal takes advantage of a good name and leaves behind a bad one. To prevent becoming a victim of the crime of identity theft, there are few precautionary measures that can be adapted. First of all, one must not carry Social Security card with oneself. If someone's wallet or purse is stolen, he/she should immediately notify the creditors by phone and follow up with a letter. Also he/she should notify the credit agencies and ask to have a fraud alert placed on his/her account. Another attempt to get protected is to write to the credit bureaus and ask to opt out of pre-approved credit card offers. Besides, one must always shred such offers and other documents containing sensitive information, before throwing away, or keep these in a safe place. One must always keep personal information hidden from any household workers. It must be made a point never to use birth date, Social Security number, or street address as ATM PIN, and never to write passwords on ATM or credit cards. It must be remembered not to give out any personal information over the phone or online unless absolutely sure. One should follow up with creditors if bills do not arrive on time and compare ATM and credit card receipt with statements to check for unauthorized transfers or charges. People may give their Social Security number only when absolutely necessary. It is best to mail checks and other sensitive mail at the post office rather than home or neighborhood mailbox. Checks should be written with a fine-point permanent marker. Paying bills via an electronic bill payment service would protect even more. Firewall software can be installed to ward off hackers' attempts to extract personal information from the computer. Encryption software cloaks email and other online communications in a code decipherable only by those equipped with the password. According to the Federal Trade Commission, it takes fourteen months, on average, for a victim of identity theft to notice the crime. Clearing one's name takes diligent work and is a long process and this burden is placed on victims to prove fraud. Once discovered that one's identity has been stolen, he/she must immediately call creditors and close accounts. Then those banks and credit card issuers need to be contacted where the impostor opened new accounts in victim's name and close them. The crime should be reported to all police and sheriff departments with jurisdiction in the victim's area immediately. Obtain a copy of all police reports to show to the credit card companies, banks, and insurance companies to verify the crime. Even if the victim closes credit card accounts, it does not stop the identity thief from opening new accounts in his/her name. To prevent this from happening, the victim will need to alert the fraud prevention department of the major credit bureaus. One must include a statement in credit report that creditors should call to get his/her permission before approving new credit cards or loans in his/her name. A Follow up with written requests should be made and copies of these notices should be kept. If someone's checks got stolen or bank accounts set up fraudulently in his/her name, it must be reported to the seven check verification companies, payment must be stopped on outstanding checks through victim's bank, his/her checking and savings accounts must be cancelled and new account numbers be obtained. Another attempt is to write a form letter that can be mailed or faxed whenever one receives an inquiry about fraudulent checks written from his/her bank account. The letter should give a brief description of what happened, check numbers and check manufacturer (obtained from bank), bank account number, case number (assigned by the police), the name of the detective handling the case, and the name and phone number of the customer service representative at one's bank. Once found that someone has submitted a false change of address to the post office to illegally receive credit cards in someone's name, the postal inspector should be notified, it should be found out where the fraudulent cards were sent, and the postmaster must be told to forward all mail in the original name to the actual address. If someone else obtains the Social Security number, the Social Security Administration can be called to change the victim's number. Also the passport office should be notified in writing to be on the lookout for anyone ordering a new passport using the victim's Social Security number. Once discovered that one's driver's license number is being misused, for example to write bad checks, the victim should contact his/her area's Department of Motor Vehicles to see if another license has been issued in his/her name. If so, one must put a fraud alert on the license and request for a new number must be made immediately. If a civil judgment has been entered in someone's name for actions taken by an impostor, the victim must contact the court where the judgment was entered and report that he is a victim of identity theft. If someone is wrongfully prosecuted of criminal charges, he/she should contact the state Department of Justice and the FBI to inquire for the way to clear his/her name. The victim must always file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by contacting the FTC's Consumer Response Center. The FTC is the federal clearinghouse for grievances by identity theft victims. The FTC has no right or power to take criminal cases, but it does help out victims by supplying information that can solve the monetary and other troubles resulting from identity theft. The FTC also may pass on victim complaints to other suitable government agencies and private organizations for additional action. The FTC also gets together information regarding identity theft to direct to law enforcement actions via an online identity theft compliant form. The crime of identity theft is not haunting the US society only. PhoneBusters, a Canadian anti-fraud call centre jointly operated by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, received almost 15,000 identity-related theft reports in 2003, totaling over $21 million in losses. The threat is increasing significantly, and methods of identity theft are becoming more sophisticated every year.3 Besides USA and Canada, the crime of identity theft is plaguing other countries too, including UK and Australia. "Identity fraud is costing the UK an estimated 1.7bn every year. ID fraudsters use personal details to gain access to bank accounts, run up bills, and create false documents like passports to carry out benefit crime." Home Office Minister Andy Burnham, 2006) The Cabinet Office's report in 2002 recommended retailers and banks made more stringent checks of IDs, as well as tighter control in the issue of ID documents.4 "Corporate identity theft is costing UK businesses up to 50m a year." Mike Berry reports. "Increasing numbers of criminals are posing as company directors and ripping off suppliers by ordering goods they never pay for before selling them on for profit. The fraudsters register their details at Companies House to make them seem legitimate, according to the report by business advisory group Vantis. One common tactic involves the fraudsters conning staff at Companies House to change a registered company address. Goods are then delivered to the premises where they are then stolen." 5(Berry, 2005) The Australian Institute of Criminology estimated the overall cost of fraud in Australia as more than $5 billion per year, almost a third of the $19 billion "total cost of crime". (2002 - 2003) Credit bureau Baycorp Advantage's chief executive Andrew Want said that identity related fraud costs Australians more than $2.2 billion a year (2005). In Australia too, identities are stolen in mostly the same ways as mentioned before in this paper. Similar financial frauds and crimes are committed in the name of stolen identities.6 Japan is one example of identity theft where this crime is conducted making use of camera cell phones. The identity thieves, with the help of these tiny camera devices, capture images of the checks, ATM cards, credit cards etc. belonging to the victims. Moreover these images can be sent out at once to other people and can be kept for later abuse, all due to the innovation and modernization in technology today. "In year 2004, 4.52 million subscribers to Japan's largest provider of broadband web access had personal financial information stolen by criminals." 7 (AARP, 2005). The worldwide community made by instantaneous computer communication and the Internet gives away even more chances than ever for identity theft to be accomplished from far and wide. Worldwide evils have need of worldwide way out. While improvement is being made, the law enforcing agencies got to be more forceful to curb this rising crime. Works Cited Jeff Sovern, 2004, 'Stopping Identity Theft', Journal of Consumer Affairs. Volume: 38. Issue: 2. Page Number: 233+. Stephanie Young, 2005, 'Stolen Lives: Identity Theft Is The Country's Fastest Growing Crime. Here's How To Protect Your Most Valuable Asset-You!', Black Enterprise, Volume: 36. Issue: 2. Page Number: 86+ Sunil Dutta, 2003, 'Identity Theft: A Crime Of Modern Times', World and I, Volume: 18. Issue: 10. Page Number: 290. 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Identity Theft, ID theft, identity management, IT security, information security, fraud, privacy http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid%253D3676%2526cid%253D98437,00.html Accessed March 28, 2006) Read More