Identity Theft: Rational Choice Theory

"Identity theft is the unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing credit or debit card, bank account, telephone account, online account, or insurance account; the unauthorized use or attempted use of another person’s information to open such an account, secure a loan, or commit another crime; or the misuse of another person’s information for a fraudulent purpose" (Conklin, 2013, p. 58). The techniques performed by offenders to achieve identity theft can be very strategic, focusing on naiveness of focal groups. One example is where offenders impersonate government officials and ask for personal information with threats of losing benefits by not submitting. Due to this, the most appropriate theory that applies is rational choice theory.
The major cause of crime among people is most likely materialism.
People place material items at a high level and obsess on ways to obtain. Whenever there are no financial means available to obtain material items, crime may be the most appealing route. Since there is never a way of ever of satisfying this passion to achieve the sense of happiness that advertisers promise, offenders will continue to seek this happiness through ongoing crime. In the United States, advertisers focus on exploiting this human emotion of seeking happiness through the sale of their material items. In addition, many advertisers will promote a self centered approach within society. An example of this is the Burger King advertisement , "Have it your way." As a result, the lust for an self centered approach may give criminals a justification of not having empathy for the
victim.