Identity Theft: The History and Current Issues
While identity theft is nothing new, thieves have been stealing innocent peoples identity throughout history. However, advances in technology have made it easier for thieves to steal information for identity thefts crimes.
In the early days in the history of identity theft the thief would usually kill the victim and assume their identity. Looking alike was only worrisome if someone had known the person since there were not too many requirements for a photo identification card.
As time progressed, thieves learned other ways to obtain information for identity theft. They could easily rummage through someones trash to find useful information to commit identity theft. Some peoples trash contained a goldmine of information for thieves such as bank statements and credit card information. Thieves could easily use this information to assume another persons identity.
As the history of identity theft matured, thieves took to stealing directly from the mailbox, keeping an eye out on days bank statements usually went out. This method was just as successful but did not share the dirt that was evident in dumpster diving.
Telemarketing brought another wave of criminals into the history of identity theft as they could call people telling them they won a prize or were from a charitable organization calling about a donation. When they first started it was easy to convince people to give out personal information for verification purposes and then use it to open credit card accounts, buy houses and other forms of illegal financial transactions.
Internet Opens Doors Wide For Identity Theft
When people started conducting personal transactions online, thieves found a new source for stealing information. They began to hack into banking sites to obtain personal information. Banking sites then began using tougher security controls leaving thieves to find more intuitive ways to steal information.
One such ploy is to send fraudulent emails to individuals. These fraudulent emails look like they are from legitimate financial institutions and ask for personal information such as log in and password. Some unsuspecting individuals share their information this way, allowing identity theft to continue.
