THE THREAT OF FRAUD

Plan to review case of identity theft

Identity theft involves getting access to someone’s personal identifying information such as their name, social security number (SSN) or bank information and using the data to commit fraud or other crimes. The best way to review case of identity theft is by first identifying the techniques used to get access to personal and financial information. This will help to discover any similarity in all the identity theft cases so as to determine whether the crimes could have been committed by the same person. It is also important to identify the crime, the perpetrator and the victim of the crime.

How to control identity theft

Stopping identity theft can be hard but it can be slowed. There are different ways which can be used to control identity theft. Individuals should be encouraged to check their account statements so as to discover any unauthorized access. It is important to check monthly credit, bank, investment and other financial account statements immediately they are received. This will help to check for errors, unauthorized purchases, and withdrawals or any other change in your accounts. Any error in the accounts should be reported immediately to the service provider so that they can determine whether it is an error that can be corrected and in case of an identity theft, measures to avoid further damage should be made. It is also important to identify unauthorized account access. These is because the account can be used to access financial and personal information that might be used. People should also be discouraged from giving their personal information such as names, credit card number, and passwords to internet pages and strangers. It is also important to be careful when providing identity information in public as some people might be listening or watching for example when using an ATM machine. It is also very important not to carry identity documents in public in a wallet or a purse as they can be snatched and be used for fraud purposes. Securing mailbox is also important as it prevents stolen mails which can be used to access personal information (Hoar, 2001). The measures above are very important in controlling identity theft.    

Protection against fraudulent

 The professors can use the extended fraud alert which can be placed on credit alerts for about seven years or less depending with what the individuals want and also depending on the occurrence of identity theft in different individuals. The alert requires that creditors to take extra steps to identify the identity of the individual applying for a credit to ensure they are dealing with the right person. The professors should also authenticate their emails to make it hard for the identity thieves to access their mail. They should also use encryption to securely store data and thus making it useless when stolen and thus it cannot be used against their wishes. Customers should also be authenticated to prevent the use of stolen card numbers. The professors should activate new credit cards to prevent the identity thieves from using the information they already have. They should also communicate with their financial institutions and inform them about the identity theft so that any foreign activities in their accounts can be stopped and prevented. They should also change their account pins and passwords to prevent access of their accounts by persons who might be in possession of their personal information (Tracy, 2005). Following the steps is important as it will prevent further damage to the accounts by the perpetrator. 

Identifying victims of identity theft.

Victims of identity theft can be identified as persons whose personal accounts have been used without their knowledge and permission. The victims can find that either money has been withdrawn from their account or their account details have been used to purchase goods or to apply for loans or their credit cards have been used. In other cases a victim’s personal information can be used to open new accounts such as a credit or debit card account. The account can be used to apply for loans or to purchase goods on credit without the knowledge of the victim on existence of such accounts. For other victims, their personal information can be used for a fraudulent purpose such as getting medical care, renting an apartment or a house, getting government benefits or getting a job. Persons who have experienced such can be identified as victims of identity theft. Identifying the victims of identity theft is very import as they can help provide information about the crime which can be used in investigations. (Harrell, & Langton, 2013). The information can also be used to identify the perpetrators. Identifying the victims is also important as the government can help them setter their accounts from the effects of the crime.   

Punishment for perpetrators

Identity crime is a federal offense and the victims have the rights to be compensated for their losses by the perpetrators. The perpetrators should be punished according to the number of crimes committed and also depending with the financial loss the crime causes to the victims (Sabol, 1998).  The perpetrator should face jail terms and fines which should be used to pay the victims depending with the loss they incurred from the crime. For example a perpetrator should face a six month jail term for first crime, one to two years for second crime and three to five years jail term for a third crime.

References

Harrell, E., & Langton, L. (2013). Victims of identity theft, 2012 (p. 12). US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Hoar, S. B. (2001). Identity theft: The crime of the new millennium. Or. L. Rev., 80, 1423.

Sabol, M. A. (1998). Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998-Do Individual Victims Finally Get Their Day in Court. Loy. Consumer L. Rev., 11, 165.

Tracy, R. (2005). Reduce Your Risk of Credit Fraud and Identity Theft! (1st ed.). Elbert: The Privacy Trust Group, 2005.