Your credit card hasn’t been lost or stolen. So why is there $10,000 worth of jewelry, airline tickets, and electronic equipment on your monthly statement? Welcome to the world of identity theft, which today is just a few keystrokes away from its next target.
According to a 2010 report by the Javelin Strategy and Research Corporation some 11.1 million people (close to 5% of the American population) were victimized by identity crimes in 2009 creating a loss of a whopping $54 billion dollars. Only about 13% of these crimes could be traced to someone known by the victim and people lost on average 21 hours and $373 trying to resolve the situation.
Identity theft became a violation of federal law in 1998 under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act although statutes already stood on the books for credit card fraud computer fraud mail and wire fraud and financial institution fraud. “Identity fraud went onto the books relatively recently but there were plenty of common law precedents before that ” explains lawyer Richard Horowitz of Richard Horowitz and Associates. “With people using credit cards and computers more and more it became enough of a problem to be codified into law.
“Some techniques to steal people’s data aren’t that hard” he continues. “Sometimes thieves get it just through calling up the bank especially if they know the victim’s mother’s maiden name or social security number. Some hack into computers or bribe people on the inside to get information.”
At the most old-fashioned level thieves may steal the actual items that contain your information pilfering your wallet or your mail. Others engage in “dumpster diving” rifling through garbage to extract documents with personal information (some shrewdly target business trash for employee records customer information and register receipts). Another trick is to fill out “change of address” forms at the post office to divert information-bearing mail.
Create a free account to keep reading.
