Identity Theft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Identity Theft - Essay Example It can start with lost or stolen wallets, stolen mail, a data breach, computer virus, ‘phishing’ scams etc† (ITRC, 2012). In the current scenario, internet is the extensively used medium for such crimes. Hackers globally are carrying out copious activities to steal the identity of persons for their personal goals or for the interests of some other stakeholders who pay them. Identity theft is also carried out by persons due to their personal rivalries and also by some countries against their rival countries. Many countries are engaged in stealing the personal information of the high level officials of other countries in order to maintain their check on the rivals. When it comes to internet and cyber technologies, tactics like computer viruses, hacking computer networks, obtaining the personal information about the victims from social networking sites and using them to figure out their secret codes, observing the victims typing their personal passwords on public syst ems, abducting their personal information from web browser logs using spywares, installing malwares on the victim’s computer, credit card cloning etc. are used for identity theft. The prime reason for why internet identity theft is widely practised by criminals is that they can carry out crimes on some others’ identity or rifle someone’s accounts in a safer way such that it will be not very easy to figure out the real culprits or the person whose identity they have used for conducting the crime. Internet has grown in such a way that people carry out many of their activities like banking, shopping, bill payments etc. through internet. Social networking sites like facebook, twitter, Google plus etc. have become widely societal that they have emanated as a part of the daily lives of the proletariat. Email has outraged the habit of sending written mails from people. Email is today a vital mode of sending messages among persons to organizations to governments. All th ese have set up a platform for the cyber criminals for their easy patrolling on the net and it has become an easy task for hackers to steal the personal information of others. The Internet Crime Complaint Centre of FBI has listed out the current and ongoing internet trends and schemes in carrying out cyber crimes. They are:-auction fraud, auction fraud-Romania, counterfeit cashier’s check, credit card fraud, debt elimination, parcel courier email scheme, employment or business opportunities, escrow services fraud, internet extortion, investment fraud, lotteries, Nigerian letter or ‘419’, phishing or spoofing, ponzi or pyramid, reshipping, spam, third party receiver of funds (Internet Crime Complaint Center, n. d). Kevin J. Connolly (2004, p. 348-49) in his book ‘Internet Security and Privacy’ describes the privacy rights of internet users and the ways to safeguard their private information. He says the primary worry of a person when he browses the in ternet is lack of privacy. Lack of privacy protection can help a stranger to collect information about the consumer’s activities. The user should be aware about the information provided to a website. User should also be aware of the privacy policies of the websites or online services concerned. Connolly (2004, p. 348-49) points out that users often do not care to go through the privacy notices and