Institute of Legal Education

IDENTITY THEFT – An Critical Study

Author -TIMPLE SUGANYA J A, Student at SATHYABAMA UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

Identity theft over the years has attained the development as the fastest growing cyber crime. The common public are not aware that how much of personal informations they are revealing in the internet knowingly or unknowingly. And they are also uneducated that how these informations can be easily extracted and be misused by anyone. Therefore it is advised to limit showcasing your personal information’s in the online make your private instead of public in the online, which can eventually decrease the possibility of Identity theft. In this paper I will give you an in- depth knowledge about identity theft and its types, precautionary measures and victim support.

Keywords: Identity theft, Identity fraud, Cyber crime, Cyber fraud, Identity theft

Introduction:

Identity theft is fast growing crime in the globe which claims thousands of victims every year, also leads with serious consequences. To be more precise ‘Identity criminals don’t steal the Identity, instead they use these identities as a tool to steal money’. Knowingly or unknowingly we our self are creating opportunities to the criminals to steal our identity. In many cases the victims aren’t getting solution to their loss by the identity theft as the network behind this is wide spread. The evolution of the internet has aided an privilege to the criminals in the case of Identity theft. The main intention of the Identity theft is for financial gain. In this article we will be briefly looking into the concept of Identity theft.

What is Identity theft:

Identity theft is when a stranger or any other person other than you illegally poses or use your name as you, majoritively for getting money. Sometimes the Identity theft can also be done to steal from you. Identity theft involves acquiring personal information of a person in order to impersonate them and commit numerous crimes in the name of that person. Alongside the personal information’s, the Identity thieves will also look for insurance number, credit card numbers, bank details and other similar information’s in order to get benefit from those in the name of the other person.

Types of Identity theft:

When the criminals get your information’s, they are likely to commit these common crimes:

1. Credit identity theft: Credit identity theft is when the criminal uses your personal information’s such as date of birth or any other information in order to apply a new credit benefit.

2. Child identity theft: In this case, the criminal steals a child’s information’s in order to apply credit in the name of the child. Often these are not discovered until the victim applies for educational loan or other credit.

3. Synthetic identity theft: Synthetic identity theft is when the fraud combines the real and fake information to create a new identity. This new identity is used to create fake account and make fraudulent purchases and get loans.

4. Taxpayer identity theft: It is when the fraud steals your social security number after which he files the tax and gets the tax refund and tax credit.

5. Medical identity theft: It is using someone else’s identity to get medical services. It is generally dangerous as it can result in medical information’s getting mixed.

6. Account takeover: The criminals steals the personal data in order to access the financial accounts, then change the passwords and address so that you will no longer have access to your account.

7. Criminal identity theft: This kind of theft occurs when a criminal gives law authorities of someone else’s name or address during an arrest or investigation. This is often done with fake identification , such as fake passport.

Ways by which identity theft can happen:

There are many ways the criminals indulges in identity theft, from that few are listed below:

Data breaches: Hackers invade database holding sensitive information’s. Almost everyone has been affected by data breach. To avoid these, take necessary precautions earlier itself. Check your data scores regularly.
Phishing or spoofing: Phishing is when the fraudsters send official-looking emails and SMS’s to make you to disclose your personal or financial related information’s. Spoofing is same that of phishing but it involves caller ID which is exactly same as the trusted company’s call.
Skimming: It is getting credit card information from a smaller device, generally when the credit card is used in gas station or in ATM.
Phone scams: You may be told over the phone that you have won something or your bank card has been blocked. The fraud would claim you to disclose your card details or personal or banking details to verify your identity or to know where to send the money in a malicious intention of fool them.
Malware: Opening an email attachment or any infected websites can install malicious software on your system, such as keylogger. Keylogger is it logs every keystrokes and gives access to the passwords and account details to the criminal.

Prevention from Identity theft:

Minimize the amount of personal information which you give out, especially in online.
Keep you personal information’s, such as your birth certificate, passport, citizenship card or Aadhaar card(In India), etc. in a safe place.
Limit the use of personal information in social media.
Safeguard your mail from theft, enable two step verification in you mail.
Use strong password in your mobile phone in order to protect information getting stolen.
Ensure that your computer system or gadgets are updated with latest security update.
Be cautious while downloading third party applications.
Monitor your account balances and activities frequently.
Notify your creditors(if any) immediately if your card gets lost are stolen.
Shred all personal records and financial informations instead of just throwing them in the waste basket.

Victim support:

Unfortunately if you become a victim:

Immediately report the crime to the police.
By showing your police complaint report alert your institutions who are having your personal information’s like in bank, insurance company to safeguard your belongings and take necessary safety measures.
Cancel your existing accounts and cards and open a new account and get a new card.
Freeze all your cards and accounts.
Make a complaint to the post office if you encounter that someone is diverting your mail through false change of address forms.
In some cases it is advised to take assistance from lawyers.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, identity theft can happen to anyone and it is very much essential to take precautionary steps in order to prevent such crimes taking place and becoming a victim. Individuals who are supposed to be careful towards the victim of Identity theft is the seniors and the teenagers as they are the targeted marks. Ultimately being careless with personal information’s And not paying attention to warning signs will be the victims of Identity theft and leaving behind long term effects personally and towards the society as well.

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