Theft has Learned the Internet Essay -- Technology, Identity Theft

Identity theft is a major problem in the United States and is growing ever year. In 2003, identity theft cost business and consumers close to $53 billion and identities stolen from around 10 million Americans (Dinev 77). Identity theft is where someone can pretend to be someone else, and to make financial charges under the victim’s name, leaving all the troubles of fixing the victim’s financial troubles to the victim while the theft continues to steal until they either are caught or move on to another victim (Vacca 4). In 1998, identity theft became illegal even though this issue has been around for ages (Hoffman and McGinley 1). The traditional way of identity theft is â€Å"pinched wallet or pilfered mail† also is known as â€Å"dumpster diving† (Yount 71).Also, the Internet plays a big role in identity theft. In the Internet, a thief can hide from detection while stealing peoples’ identities from their homes, being able to steal peoples’ i nformation one by one â€Å"then disappearing into another identity,† (Vacca 60). Internet users must know about the risk of online identity theft, so that they can protect themselves from this threat. Most criminals are smart and clever; they are finding new ways to steal peoples’ personal information every day. For example, phishing is when someone receives an email saying that there is a problem that needs to be fix immediately; included was a hyperlink to the site, but the site the person is direct to is a brilliantly created fake that looks just like the original but instead steals the information that person provided (Sheetz 93). People blame themselves all the time if their identities are stolen because they think they were too careless with their information. However, phishing is hard not to fall... ...by itself, and online identity theft is like a very think branch off of identity theft. Since online identity theft has different ways of becoming a victim and protecting from being a victim. Criminals are constantly using the Internet to their advantage, so that they can make their lives better at the cost of others. There are many people who are hurt by identity theft who are not able to turn their lives around. Even though the Internet is growing every day, so do the different ways people can lose their identities. Ergo, the task of protecting people from online identity theft is also changing. This issue seems like one that will never go away, so people must fight back in order to protect themselves from this criminal act. The question remains: have you done any of these tasks to protect yourself and if not then how do you know if you still have your identity?