Few people have heard of identity theft. Some may not know exactly what it is or how dangerous it can be. Is this just something from the CSIs or could it be real? The basic answer is that it is a crime when a person wrongfully attempts to use another person's information in a way that would be misleading. Most people do this to increase their finances. Some things that may be taken include social security, bank account information, credit card numbers, and phone numbers. There are so many little things that people just can't seem to keep track of these days. This can be extremely dangerous if any of this information falls into the hands of the wrong people. You could face financial loss, criminal liability, or financial loss due to the restoration of your name and reputation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Identity theft has not always been a federal crime. The USDOJ (United States Department of Justice) tells us about a specific case. “In a notorious case of identity theft, the criminal, a convicted felon, not only incurred more than $100,000 in credit card debt, obtained a federal home loan and purchased homes, motorcycles and handguns in the victim's name, but he also called his victim to taunt him - saying he could continue impersonating the victim as long as he wanted because identity theft. was not a federal crime at that time - before declaring bankruptcy, also on behalf of the victim While the victim and his wife spent over four years and over $15,000 of their own money to restore their credit. and their reputation, the criminal served a brief sentence for making a false statement to obtain a firearm, but paid no compensation to his victim for any of the damage he had caused. was the last action to make identity theft a crime in 1998. I know you may be thinking that this is obviously a huge thing, but it will never happen to me. It's extremely easy for people to get your information. Although you may think that you are rather careful and keep all important information locked away in the safety of your own home. There are plenty of ways for almost anyone to access your information and data without even having to open your door. For example, there is something called “shoulder surfing”. This is where someone is watching you from a surrounding location. You might enter credit card information or phone numbers. Another thing people do is listen in on conversations where you might be giving information to sellers or your family. Another example is called “dumpster diving”: people search the dumpsters around your home and workplace to find all your files or papers. They're looking for things like checks, credit cards, or bank statements, basically anything that will help them become you. You may be familiar with spam. Many people can send an email and as soon as you open the message, they have full control of your computer. They can retrieve all the information they need. In November, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, which is well stated on the website: "transfer or.