Identity Theft

Law enforcement officials have stated that identity theft crime has been one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. Identity theft is also one of the fastest growing white color crimes. This is a serious crime. Identity theft is the act of knowingly transferring or using without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state law. If the offender is found guilty, then the person committing the act could get a fine, property forfeiture, or at maximum of 15 years in prison.


How common is identity theft? It is the top consumer fraud complaint. There are an estimated 500-750 thousand victims per year. Different types of fraud that are included in the identity theft crime are identification fraud; credit card fraud; computer fraud; mail fraud; wire fraud; and financial institution fraud. One of the ways this crime can occur is by social security number, they assume an identity, make fraudulent credit charges, get loans, open bank accounts, write bad checks on your account, and commit crimes in a person’s name. Some of the ways thieves get some data is by wallet (you may have left behind), mailbox, or garbage; from insecure financial transactions completed over the Internet; from information left on machines in public; wireless technology such as cell phones; beepers; etc., and some will go so far as going through people’s trash. Some of the consequences for victims include fraudulent credit charges, fake vehicle purchases, and home loans. The average victim has around $18 thousand dollars stolen. Some negative consequences a victim may face is he can’t receive credit, and his mortgage rates get higher.  


According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft was involved in more than 40 percent of the consumer complaints it received last...