Identity Theft

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Identity Theft shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Identity Theft offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Identity Theft at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Identity Theft? Wrong! If the Identity Theft is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Identity Theft then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Identity Theft? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Identity Theft and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Identity Theft wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Identity Theft then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Identity Theft site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Identity Theft, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Identity Theft, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

Identity theft as a term first appears in U.S.A and in U.K literature in the 1990s, leading to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act.http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/itada/itadact.htm Public Law 105-318, 112 Stat. 3007 (Oct. 30, 1998)

In 1998, The Federal Trade Commission appeared before the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information of the Committee of the Judiciary, United States Senate.http://www.ftc.gov/os/1998/05/identhef.htm Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on "Identity Theft" May 20, 1998 The FTC highlighted the concerns of consumers for financial crimes exploiting their credit worthiness to commit loan fraud, mortgage fraud, lines-of-credit fraud, credit card fraud, commodities and services frauds.With the rising awareness of consumers to an international problem, in particular through a proliferation of websites and coverage in the media, the term "identity theft" has since morphed to encompass a much broader range of identification-based crimes. The more traditional crimes range anywhere from deadbeat parents avoiding their child support, to criminals providing the police with stolen or forged documents, thereby avoiding detection, as well as money laundering, human trafficking, stock market manipulation, and even to terrorism.

According to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, identity theft is "sub-divided into four categories: Financial Identity Theft (using another's name and SSN to obtain goods and services), Criminal Identity Theft (posing as another when apprehended for a crime), Identity Cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life) and Business/Commercial Identity Theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)."

The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (2003) amended the U.S. Code, s. 1028 - "Fraud related to activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information". The Code now makes possession of any "means of identification" to "knowingly transfer, possess, or use without lawful authority" a federal crime, alongside unlawful possession of identification documents.

Some people prefer the term "identity fraud" to describe when their means of identification has been exploited for an unlawful purpose. Others believe the thief does deprive the owner of his identity by replacing his reputation with the thief's. Both uses of the term focus on the act of acquiring the legally attributed personal identifiers and other personal information necessary to perpetrate the impersonation. What Are Identity Theft and Identity Fraud?, United States Department of Justice, retrieved June 30,2006

A classic example of consumer-dependent financial crime occurs when Bob obtains a loan from a financial institution impersonating Peter. Bob uses Peter's personal identifiers that he has somehow acquired. These personal identifiers conform with the data retained on Peter by national credit-rating services. The identifiers include surname, given names, date of birth, Social Security number (U.S.), Social Insurance Number (Cda), current and former addresses etc. These data are all part of credit header information retained by credit-rating services. For Bob, these crimes are non self-revealing, although authorities can track Bob down unless he conceals his mailing address somehow. With consumers being credit-dependent, the onus shifts to them to re-establish their credit-worthiness with the lending institutions and credit-rating services.

Less commonly understood outside criminal intelligence and law enforcement circles is the impact of identification-based concealment crimes. As with credit-dependent consumer financial crimes, criminals acquire legally attributed personal identifiers and then clone someone to them for concealment from authorities. Unlike credit-dependent financial crimes, they are non self-revealing, continuing for an indeterminate amount of time without being detected.

The crimes include illegal immigration, terrorism and espionage, to mention a few. It may also be a means of blackmail if activities undertaken by the thief in the name of the victim would have serious consequences for the victim. There are cases of identity cloning to attack payment systems, such as obtaining medical treatment.

Personal guardianship The acquisition of legally attributed personal identifiers is made possible by serious breaches of privacy. For consumers it is usually due to personal naivete in who they provide their information to or carelessness in protecting their information from theft (e.g. vehicle break-ins and home invasions). Guardianship of personal identifiers by consumers is the most common intervention strategy recommended by the Federal Trade Commission, Canadian Phone Busters and most sites that address "identity theft". Personal guardianship issues include recommendations on what consumers may do to prevent their information getting into the wrong hands.

Agency guardianship Governments trade off diligence in issuing both foundation and other means of identification documents providing access to benefits, privileges and services, for delivery of smooth and efficient services to their clients because they are right

In their May 1998 testimony on Identity Theft before a subcommittee of the Committee of the Judiciary, United States Senate, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported on their response to consumer concern about the sale of their Social Security numbers and other personal identifiers by the individual reference service industry and data miners. The FTC agreed to the industry's draft of self-regulating principles restricting access to non-public information which includes "credit header" information on credit reports. The credit header data typically includes the individual's name, address, aliases, Social Security number, current and prior addresses and telephone number.http://www.ftc.gov/os/1998/05/identhef.htm Testimony before the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information, Committee of the Judiciary, United States Senate May 20, 1998 pp 5,6 According the industry the restrictions vary according to the category of customer. Credit-rating services gather and disclosure personal and credit information to a wide business client base.

Governments, in registering sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations do not make an effort to determine if the officers listed in the Articles of Incorporation are who they say they are, potentially allowing criminals access to personal information through credit-rating and data mining services. Other poor corporate diligence standards include: i) a failure to shred confidential information before throwing it into dumpsters; ii) the brokerage of personal information to other businesses without ensuring that the purchaser maintains adequate security controls; and iii) the theft of laptop computers being carried off-site containing vast amounts of personal information.

If corporate or government organizations do not protect consumer privacy, client confidentiality and political privacy, the acquisition of personal identifiers to commit unlawful acts will continue to be a prime target for criminals. Internet Identity Theft - A Tragedy for Victims, Software and Information Industry Association, retrieved June 30,2006

Legal response In the United Kingdom personal data is protected by the Data Protection Act. The Act covers all personal data which an organization may hold, including names, birthday and anniversary dates, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.

Under English law, the deception offenses under the Theft Act 1968 increasingly contend with identity theft situations. In R v Seward (2005) EWCA Crim 1941 R v Seward (2005) EWCA Crim 1941 the defendant was acting as the "front man" in the use of stolen credit cards and other documents to obtain goods. He obtained goods to the value of £10,000 for others who are unlikely ever to be identified. The Court of Appeal considered sentencing policy for deception offenses involving "identity theft" and concluded that a prison sentence was required. Henriques J. said at para 14:"Identity fraud is a particularly pernicious and prevalent form of dishonesty calling for, in our judgment, deterrent sentences."

In Australia, privacy law is the responsibility of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Privacy Commissioner, retrieved June 30,2006

In the USA, until 2003, dealing with consumer crimes involving legally attributed personal identifiers was the jurisdictional responsibility of the local and state authorities. Identification documents are a different story, addressed in Title 18 > Part I > Chapter 47 s.1028 of the U.S. Code. The unlawful use of identification documents is historically a federal offence. In response to the consumer issue of "identity theft", the U.S. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (2003) amending Title 18 > Part I > Chapter 47, s. 1028 to include the unlawful use of a "means of identification" (d)(7) making it a federal crime alongside identification documents. The title of s.1028 is, "Fraud related to activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information". The Act also provides the Federal Trade Commission with authority to track the number of incidents and the dollar value of losses. There figures relate mainly to consumer financial crimes and not the broader range of all identification-based crimes. Federal Trade Commission, retrieved June 30,2006Punishments for the unlawful use of a "means of identification" were strengthened in s.1028a, allowing for a consecutive sentence under specific conditions of a felony violation defined in s. 1028c.

If used to commit another crime in the commission of identity theft in the United States (if charged federally) include:

Class B Felony: 6-20 years in Jail and a fine up to $10,000
Class C Felony: 2-8 years in Jail and a fine up to $10,000

If charges are brought by state or local law enforcement agencies, different penalties apply depending on the state.

In France, a person convicted of identity theft can be sentenced up to 5 years in prison and fined up to euro75,000.

Techniques for obtaining information

Stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish (dumpster diving)
Stealing payment or identification cards or the information on them (pickpocketing, "drive-by" scanning of RF-enabled cards/tags)
Eavesdropping on public transactions to obtain personal data (Shoulder surfing (computer security))
Stealing personal information in computer databases (Trojan horse (computing), Hacker (computer security))
Infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information
Impersonating a trusted organization in an electronic communication (phishing)
Obtaining castings of fingers for falsifying fingerprint identification.
browsing social network service (MySpace, Facebook, Bebo etc) sites, online for personal details that have been posted by users
Simply researching about the victim in government registers, at the internet, Google, and so on.

Spread and impact Surveys in the USA from 2003 to 2006 showed a decrease in the total number of victims but an increase in the total value of identity fraud to US$56.6 billion in 2006. The average fraud per person rose from $5,249 in 2003 to $6,383 in 2006. Recent Surveys and Studies, Privacy Clearing House, retrieved June 30,2006

The 2003 survey from the Identity Theft Resource Center found that :

Only 15% of victims find out about the theft through proactive action taken by a business
The average time spent by victims resolving the problem is about 40 hours
73% of respondents indicated the crime involved the thief acquiring a credit card
The emotional impact is similar to that of victims of violent crimes

In a widely publicized account, Verbal Testimony by Michelle Brown, July 2000, U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information -- "Identity Theft: How to Protect and Restore Your Good Name" Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Identity Theft. Ms. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the Chicago Federal Prison."

In Australia, identity theft was estimated to be worth between AUS$1billion and AUS$4 billion per annum in 2001. Identity Crime Research and Coordination, Australasian Centre for Policing Research, retrieved June 30,2006

In the United Kingdom the Home Office reported that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.7 billion What is Identity theft?,Home Office,retrieved June 30,2006 although privacy groups object to the validity of these numbers, arguing that they are being used by the government to push for introduction of national ID cards. Confusion over exactly what constitutes identity theft has led to claims that statistics may be exaggerated. Identity Theft Over-Reported,Bruce Schneier, retrieved June 30,2006

Cultural references The public fascination with impostors has long had an effect on popular culture and extends to modern literature.

The story of Michelle Brown has been made into a film. Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story (2004)
In Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal the would-be assassin of Charles de Gaulle steals three identities. Firstly, he assumes the identity of a dead child by obtaining the child's birth certificate and using it to apply for a passport. He also steals the passports of a Danish clergyman and an American tourist, and disguises himself as each of those persons in turn.
In the 1995 movie The Net (film), Sandra Bullock plays a computer consultant whose life is taken over with the help of computer assisted identity theft.
In Jonathan Smith's novel Night Windows the action is based on the horrific and real life theft of Smith's own identity.
In the webcomic Kevin and Kell the character Danielle Kindle dies and is later "replaced" by a double from a parallel world. After an attempt at taking over her predecessor's identity, Danielle Kendall confesses her true nature and gets accepted by the predecessor's family - if not by all the readers.
T. Coraghessan Boyle's 2006 novel Talk Talk describes the theft of Dana Halter's identity, and her and Martin Bridger's chase of the thief across the country.
In Susan Schaab's novel Wearing the Spider a female attorney gets caught in a web of sexual harassment, identity theft and political intrigue.