Identity Theft Persuasive SpeechEssay Preview: Identity Theft Persuasive SpeechReport this essayIts like a ghost. Every day, it taps in to the cyber world and everyday it has access to you. Worse yet it could be you. According to the FTC, over 20,000 consumers a week have had their identity stolen or believe they are about to become victims, in the US alone. What people dont seem to understand is that the internet world is just like any other community. So its safe to assume the cyber world would act as any natural community. It has entrepreneurs, vast corporations, small businesses, and even accountants preparing taxes in their cyber offices, which also leaves room for cyber crime as well as cyber criminals. With so many new users signing on every day the cyber world has become like a tourist trap, a place where nameless and faceless con artists can easily work the crowds. Ghosts. Anybody can fall victim to a ghost.
Identity theft is known as a white collar crime. The first cases of white collar identity theft started in the early 1990s over the telephone. Thieves would call unsuspecting people with the prospect of something free, discounted, or something that was just too good to be true. Also thieves would pretend to be some kind of charity organization soliciting funds on behalf of the said organization. The thieves would get the victims name, address, and credit card information. The victims would not be aware until they get a bill that they had purchases they were unacquainted of or seen a copy of their credit report to find they had debit they didnt even know about.
At the same time as thieves are calling potential victims, others are going through potential victims trash looking for mail, pictures, financial statements, receipts, and anything else that would give them access to financial records or better able to assume their identity for monetary or personal gain. It is still going on even today.
No one is exempt from the possibility that they could be a victim. Identity theft has advanced so rapidly that government and law enforcement agencies have not been able to keep up with new legislature. Many states still do not view Identity theft as a crime. It is the victim who has to prove fraud exists. The judicial system that currently exists in this country states that any one accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. This is not the case with Identity theft. These people are considered guilty until such time as they can prove their innocence.
According to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the number of identity theft victims will increase by 500,000-700,000 each year. Identity theft increased by 79% from the year 2002 to 2003. The “Identity Rehab” website states that every 79 seconds an identity is stolen in this country. The Bureau of Justice conducted a National Crime Victimization Survey in 2004 with the following results:
* 3 in 10 households experiencing identity theft discovered they were victims by missing money or unknown account charges.* Approximately 2/3 of households experiencing identity theft reported some type of monetary loss.A more recent survey noted by “Identity Rehab” found that 85% of identity theft victims found out when they were denied credit. It was also reported that 28% of identity theft was due to a lost or stolen credit card. The FBI has estimated that the average person takes 12 months to realize that they have been victimized by identity theft and then another 175 hours on average to clear their name. According to the FTC, it costs victims an average of $1,500 just to restore their good name. The average victim sustains a loss of $1,200 and 1 in 5 people lose over $5,000. The average
to re-establish a name would cost $7,000, and the average Reinduction loss of $29,000. The FTC also reported that only 5% of identities are re-attached. Identity thieves are known to use digital fingerprints to identify every person they take, since the fraudster will later identify a photo of another person. An individual who takes only one photo can lose more money and become ineligible to qualify for a re-identification card, but not all re-identification cards work like re-identification cards. Identity fraudsters are known to break into millions of accounts, re-establish identities, and take the identity of a specific person. In the years following the November 2008 financial crisis, $19,500 in fraudster credit cards were bought and accepted as credit in the United States, where they are used for credit card transactions and to transfer cash and personal notes. By the year 2011, it has only gotten $19,500, and the average person who takes a $500 credit card can be eligible to use it. While some re-identification cards are legitimate even to those who cannot prove they have actually changed their names, the credit card companies believe that there is a more serious risk to identity thieves if a person’s identity is reused, and the identity thief creates fraudulent documents and transfers them to other identity thieves. One of the most prevalent methods of identity theft occurs when customers of credit cards receive a letter which identifies a certain identity card holder and gives them an “alternate name”. Some people use either counterfeit or forged documents to replace their identity cards and create fictitious identities. An attacker can easily get a replacement copy of your identity card. The best way to protect your identity is to have a bank account which offers an alternative name or a replacement of your name. A bank account contains a bank account number and does not have to be different from the number listed on your name. Identity thieves usually have one or more credit card companies or any other institution to purchase their own identity cards. Each type of identity card fraud is unique that it is possible to duplicate. As many as 10,000 identity theft victims are affected by identity fraud from different accounts, but one million individuals with this kind of account will suffer from it. Identity theft is a major problem among Americans who do not maintain a bank account. Fraudsters make at least $5,000 each time an individual changes his or her address and does not provide any information or documentation that can be used to recover money. They typically break into multiple accounts, obtain debit card numbers, bank account records, and transfer them to other identity thieves. In some cases, the identities are not completely original, but have altered by mistake, such as a stolen card or credit history, and the identities are never traced to anyone else. The American Dream is in serious danger because there is little incentive for people to seek help. Only a small amount of information may be available in court. And not many help is available in court. With just a few hundred dollars to spare, many people seek help of their own choosing. This is especially true for people who cannot pay at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis