Identity Theft: The Fastest Growing Crime

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. In the year 2014 according to the Javelin Strategy & Research group, $16 billion dollars were stolen from 12.7 million identity fraud victims. (Javelin Strategy & Research, 2015) Many cases of identity theft usually go unreported and the numbers could be higher according to the USA today which estimates 130 million from about 1 million in the year 2007. (Anderson J. G., 2013) In today age and time, identity theft is becoming more of a problem, with access to names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and other personal information. Let’s face it, identify theft is a serious problem that affects millions of innocent victims and although there is information
Not only can a person’s identity be stolen from the web, identity theft also occurs when thieves go through the trash, steal mail, and use con scams to trick a person into revealing sensitive details about their identity. In safeguarding information that may be stored on a computer, make sure to use antivirus software, encryption of files on the computer, this uses keys to lock and unlock data while the information is being transmitted over the internet and the use of firewall, can be used to limit an application’s access to the computer, avoiding hackers from trying to take over the computer to gain access to information that is stored on
Only give it out when absolutely necessary and trust the individual who wants this information. Avoid responding to an unsolicited request of personal information over the phone, by mail or online. Protect passwords or pin numbers from others while at an ATM or on a computer. Pay attention to billing and financial statements to make sure no incorrect information is present and store personal information in a safe place. Create hard to figure out passwords that thieves cannot easily guess and most importantly, obtain a credit report yearly and review thoroughly for incorrect information. Do not use the internet without installing a firewall, antivirus software to protect web browser, shred important documents that contain account information or personal identifiers, keep important documents in a locked safe, avoid having sensitive mail come through the routine post office delivery, try to pick up that type of mail from the post office and use automatic deposits for paychecks. In phishing and pharming scams, thieves often use fake websites, email addresses, or pretend to be a legitimate organization to obtain personal information like account numbers and passwords. (USA.gov,