Lifestyle Exposure Theory Essay
According to Chapter 12 lifestyle exposure theory in the text describes the emotional trauma that some victims experience when becoming an identity theft victim. According to the FTC in 2007 the highest percentage of victims were between the ages of 18-29 percent which was 29 percent. It’s also noted that lifestyles have a significant impact when identifying victims such as age, race, gender, education, and income. When I tried to determine who would be the likely victim’s it was by far older victims in the 35 to 45-year-old range. This age range for the most part have established higher incomes, a longer and higher established credit history with more credit to steal. It would appear that younger persons especially with lower incomes and less
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What was more interesting is the emotional trauma continued even after six months of becoming a victim. They developed anxiety issues and even suicidal thoughts. As a person victimized by identity theft, I can relate to some of these emotions and was surprised by others. Ten years ago, I lost my wallet while vacationing in Florida. The thieves had my cash, credit cards, insurance cards, and drives license. They were able to use my credit cards and even opened two charge accounts in my name. It was frustrating and it certainly made me angry that someone would do this to me. I was constantly on the phone sending affidavits, filing police reports and bickering with credit card companies however, after a few weeks I managed to get everything straightened out. I didn’t continue to experience these emotions after a few weeks. I certainly never experienced the anxiety as mentioned nor was I ever contemplating suicide. Maybe it was that I was fortunate to not have been as severely victimized as some people. I found a married couple that discovered someone had accessed their bank account and cleaned them out taking $45,000. The bank eventually replaced the funds but it was later stolen three more times. The couple continued to be victims for over 14 years until finally filing for bankruptcy and ruining them financially. In their case I can certainly understand their roller-coaster of emotional trauma they
What was more interesting is the emotional trauma continued even after six months of becoming a victim. They developed anxiety issues and even suicidal thoughts. As a person victimized by identity theft, I can relate to some of these emotions and was surprised by others. Ten years ago, I lost my wallet while vacationing in Florida. The thieves had my cash, credit cards, insurance cards, and drives license. They were able to use my credit cards and even opened two charge accounts in my name. It was frustrating and it certainly made me angry that someone would do this to me. I was constantly on the phone sending affidavits, filing police reports and bickering with credit card companies however, after a few weeks I managed to get everything straightened out. I didn’t continue to experience these emotions after a few weeks. I certainly never experienced the anxiety as mentioned nor was I ever contemplating suicide. Maybe it was that I was fortunate to not have been as severely victimized as some people. I found a married couple that discovered someone had accessed their bank account and cleaned them out taking $45,000. The bank eventually replaced the funds but it was later stolen three more times. The couple continued to be victims for over 14 years until finally filing for bankruptcy and ruining them financially. In their case I can certainly understand their roller-coaster of emotional trauma they