theimpactofidentitytheftonsociety.docVIP

The Impact of Identity Theft on Society Chelsi Lee McClellan LBST 499: Geeks Bearing Gifts May 6, 2008  “Identity theft, the fastest growing crime in America, the “in” crime of the new century..” (Mitnick, 2002). According to the Federal Trade Commission, approximately 246,035 complaints of identity theft were filed in 2006 (Federal Trade Commission, 2006). It has also been estimated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that every 3.3 seconds an incident of identity theft occurs (Kresse, 2006). With the increased use of electronic technology the rate of identity theft attempts occurring across the United States is only expected to rise (Finch, 2003). How can society protect itself from the growing threat of identity theft? Many changes have already taken place due to the alarming impact that identity theft has on our society. Identity theft can be defined as an illegal action in which an imposter steals another’s information, such as social security number, an insurance policy ID, a credit card number, a bank account number, a driver’s license number, an employee identification number, a computer password, or any other key components of personal identity in order to obtain profit from filing false claims or services under another’s name (Keyes, 2005). According to The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, the act of identity theft is a criminal offense to “knowingly transfer or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or aid and abet, any unlawful activity” (Finch, 2003). According to Javelins 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report more attempts of identity theft are being made today. However, the amount of money lost due to identity theft has declined significantly over the past few years. Estimated losses of $49.3 billion in the current 2007 Javelin Report have dropped a considerable amount in comparison to the Federal Trade Commission’s “2003 Identity Theft Survey Report,” which repo