Identity Theft Research Paper

Identity Theft

Boo! Are you scared? You should be, you see I'm a ghost and everyday I tap in to the information cyber world. And everyday I have access to you. Worse yet I could be you. According to the secret service approximatly one half a billion dollars is lost every year to identity theft online. What people don't seem to realize is that the internet world is just like any other community. so it's safe to assume the cyberworld would act as any natural community would with entrapranaurs, vast corporations
, little guys selling warez, doctors visiting patients in their cyber offices, church organazations, and cyber crime as well as cyber criminals.With so many new users signing on everyday the cyber world has become a tourast trap
We use our social security numbers as identification numbers Credit card numbers are printed on every receipt. And our license number is used on a daily basis.
Despite this there are ways to prevent yourself from falling victem to identity theft. you see a criminal likes easy prey. They don't want to have to work for it. It's like locking your car at the mall, sure someone might break in anyway, but chance are if your doors are lock the will probably move on to another car.
First off... Never give your credit card number online out unless you are positive that the company you are dealing with is legitimate and reputable. If you aren't sure call the better burough of business. Never give out your social security number unless you absolutely have to, the only times you are legally obligated to give out your social security number is when you are requesting government aid of some kind or for employment reasons. Also I have information packets that I will hand out reguarding a company that for a small cost has information about everybody. The packets have detailed inform atio on how to have your name and your family members names removed from their data
Say I came across your social security number while perusing the school database. With your social security number I can obtain information about you through the school by oh requesting a transcript for instance. Later
I could sign on to my annonomous account and fill out an application for american express and maybe a master card and oh I could use a new beeper to, this one is shot.By changing your address to a PO box or an abandoned apartment box. I could pick up my new cards and legitamatly become you. I could also take it another step and request a new birth certificate, because It's not at all dificult to find out where you were born because the service I ment ioned earlier has all of this information for me. I can even get a photo license with your information. Scared yet?So I charge you thousands of dollars and you don't even know it until you try to take out a loan for your daughters new car.
Granted in most cases you might not have to pay for the monitary damage directly but it will take you years to fix your credit. This is identity theft.. As I said earlier anybody can become a victem. But now you ave vital information that could prevent you from becoming one. So Never give out your information unless you have