Posted: September 9th, 2022

Identity Theft

Identity Theft
There are many crimes that are facilitated by identity theft and fraud. Research these crimes and write a one to two page paper discussing the crimes that you found, beyond those described in the text. Present at least three specific crimes and explain how they were facilitated by identity theft or fraud. Was the identity theft necessary to perpetrate the crime? Cite your sources.

Identity Theft
Identity theft defines someone taking another person’s information that is identifiable like the address, date of birth, name, and social security number, among others. That person uses the information without the owner’s consent and mostly for their financial gain. Identity criminals use different schemes that range from non-technical to technical systems. Some of the crimes facilitated by identity theft or fraud include human trafficking, corruption, financial scams, smuggling of migrants, and terrorism (Ricks & Irvin-Erickson, 2019). Generally, identity theft or fraud is the act of taking from a victim by deception or trickery.
In human trafficking, the victims re coerced into walking into a bank with the criminal. They are then asked to take a loan in their name. The criminal produces his ID when it is asked, and the victim later on signs the documents (Reyns, 2018). That lands the victims of trafficking into large debts. The trafficker can also use the name of the victim to open accounts. A victim may be forced to turn over his or her social assistance cheques. There was a time that student loans were used by traffickers, which caused too much attention from the security section. A coercive debt done by traffickers is hard to identify, especially in a case where the victim is made to take out a loan under pressure.
Terrorists use fake IDs to undertake their criminal activities. These IDs and passports are used to facilitate their traveling by posing as refugees from a particular country. A credible ID makes these terrorists blend in, to avoid intelligence agency radar or lists of no-fly by giving them a clean slate. It also gives them access to locations that have targeted. Again, these stolen documents assist them in acquiring an original ID issued by the government. A forged or stolen birth certificate is easy to purchase, but it isn’t straightforward for the police to trace one. Taking advantage of emerging technologies increases the knowledge of how identity can be vetted in locating the terrorists.
Financial scams’ main goal is to obtain personal information from victims. Fraudsters use financial scams in activities such as corruption, fraud, and theft. That also includes the exploitation of information systems and technologies. These kinds of frauds occur in telemarketing, for example, when a person requests personal details pretending to be doing a security check. Other times the criminals place false storefronts on the web, imitating a popular web retailer. Sending tricky emails or phishing to request personal and financial information disguising as the government or a well-known institution is another way of scamming (Roskind & Emigh, 2016). Criminals now recognize the monetary value of personal information, and they try as hard as bribing and threatening victims for passwords.
In conclusion, fraudulent activity results from fraudsters stealing personal information such as credit cards from just a wallet or escalating to accessing online accounts, finding statements of credit cards, and taxes from an organization. The common causes of fraud are like falling prey to scams used in phone calls, emails, or online platforms. Failure to dispose of any statement correctly, putting too many personal details on social media platforms, and creating weak passwords for the key accounts are other causes. Victims of fraudulent activities often fall into the hands of police officers for all the wrong reasons. That is because when tracking down criminals, their personal information is identified. An individual or group can commit identity theft. Most offenders work in groups for successful penetration and accomplishment.

References
Ricks, A., & Irvin-Erickson, Y. (2019). Identity Theft and Fraud [Research Brief].
Roskind, J. A., & Emigh, A. T. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,384,348. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Reyns, B. W. (2018). Identity-related crimes. Reichel, R., Randa, R.(eds.) Transnational Crime and Global Security, 161-179.

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