Week 4 Assignment 1

Running head: WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT 1

Week 4 Assignment 1

Sylbern Edwards

Ashford University

Introduction to Computer Literacy

INF 103

Harold Fisher

Jan 25, 2011

Identity theft is when someone uses, without permission, your personal information in

order to commit any frauds or crimes. Identity theft is a felony that is becoming more and more

common. That is because some of us are not very careful with personal information, making

the job easier for those trying to steel our identity. We should always be careful with

information like Social Security number, credit card number, birth date, employment

information, driver's license number, etc., because if they enter into the wrong hands the

consequences can be very serious. People that have experienced identity theft spend months

trying to repair what others have damaged, and in the meantime they cannot get a loan or lose a

job opportunity or, sometimes, they can get arrested for something they didn't do.

` If you have the slightest suspicion that someone has gained access to your personal

information, acting quickly is a must. First of all, you should get in touch with the fraud

department of the credit bureau where you have your accounts and request them to initiate a

credit alert on your accounts. This way the creditors are obligated to contact you before taking

any actions regarding your accounts. At the same time you should close the accounts you

believe that are corrupted. The second step would be filing a police report and keeping a copy

of it so to have a proof of the crime.

Cyber crime is defined as crimes committed on the internet using computer as a tool

and we innocents are the target. There are various forms of cyber crime like Spamming. I am

sure all of us have encountered unwanted product advertisements. PIRACY is also a serious

threat that involves illegal reproduction and distribution of software applications, games,

movies and audio CDs which is causing a huge monetary loss to entertainment industry world

wide. However, the government has implemented laws to prevent hackers from using your
 information along with heavy fines to those caught and convicted to theft through hacking and

others intellectual property violations. The government does a lot in our economic systems and

protecting people against cyber crime. The economic functions of our government are divided

into four categories. They provide public facilities and services. They provide us with public

well-being. They also regulate economic activity and ensure economic stability.

One of the four functions the government provides us with is public facilities and

services. National defense, education, and some health care are included in the public facilities

and services. Other services include police and fire protection, public transportation, highways,

bridges, and hospitals. This is very important for our public well-being. National defense is the

only one provided by the federal government. General welfare of the citizens is another

function the government provides us with. In order for the government to provide public

services they collect taxes from the citizens. Taxes are the monies the government collects from

both individuals and businesses.......

According to the USDOJ, this act prohibits:

Identity theft may be broadly defined as the unlawful acquisition and/or use of any

aspect of an individual’s personal information to be used for the commission of some form of

criminal activity (Hoar, 2001; LoPucki, 2001; Slosarik, 2002). This definition is intended to

encompass all forms of crime that fraudulently utilize a victims name, social security number,

address, bank account number, credit card number, etc. (Federal Trade Commission, 2004).

However, a more in-depth examination of the literature on identity theft provides a description

that consists of three basic categories for identity theft. According to Perl (2003), the major
categories include financial identity theft, non-financial identity theft, and criminal record

identity theft.

Perl (2003) notes that the category of financial identity theft represents crime based on

the illegal acquisition of financial means through the abuse of a victim’s personal information.

For this form of identity theft, the offender may open a false bank account in the victim’s name,

open new credit card accounts or even file for bankruptcy in the victims name (Perl). The

author also states that non-financial identity theft occurs when the offender uses the victim’s

information to open fraudulent utilities accounts, including basic utilities and

telecommunications accounts. Criminal records identity theft involves the offender using the

victim’s personal information for the purpose of avoiding legal sanctions (Perl). The above

noted categories of identity theft offenses will be used as a basis for the development of a more

in-depth typology and exploratory analysis.

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