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Noam Kagedan

^[1]

Identity Theft is a type of fraud in which perpetrators obtain and use victims' private information, like social security numbers, bank account numbers and driver's license numbers.

[edit] Types of Identity Theft

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, ID theft can be divided into three categories:

• financial ID theft - making purchases or bank transactions with the victim's private information
• criminal ID theft - committing crimes under the identity of the victim
• identity cloning - assuming the victim's identity in everyday life^[2]

In 2007, there were 8.4 million adult victims of identity theft, with a total cost of $49.3 billion.^[3]

[edit] How is confidential information obtained by ID thieves?

In order to commit ID theft, the perpetrator must obtain the victim's private and confidential information. There are many ways this can be done. The following are some of the most common methods:

• dumpster diving
• tampering with mail
• stealing wallets (or finding lost ones)
• hacking into internet transmissions over wireless networks
• soliciting personal information through 'phishing' (posing as an entity legitimately needing personal information, like a bank , eBay , or PayPal)

[edit] Who gains when ID theft is on the rise?

• Banks and credit card companies with specific anti-ID theft protection. For example, Citi credit cards come with Citi Identity Theft Solutions and Discover offers its customers Discover Identity Theft Protection

[edit] Who loses?

• Banks and credit card companies who have less substantial ID protection programs lose customers to competitors with better protection offerings.

• Companies that have been compromised by ID thieves in the past suffer from bad PR and decreased confidence from consumers in their ability to keep information safe. Hannaford Supermarkets, part of Etablissements Delhaize Freres et Cie Le Lion S.A. (DEG), sufferred a security breach in March 2008 in which an estimated 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ↑ Flickr
2. ↑ ID Theft Center - Fact Sheet 120, Identity Theft and Children
3. ↑ Identity Theft Surveys and Studies: How Many Identity Theft Victims Are There? What is the Impact on Victims?
4. ↑ InfoWorld.com - Data thieves steal credit card data from supermarket chain, March 17, 2008