identity theft

(noun)

The deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to gain access to that person's finances or to frame a person for a crime.

Related Terms

Examples of identity theft in the following topics:

  • Forced Entry

    • Cybercrimes are those committed via computer networks for such purposes as fraud, identity theft, and the hacking of sensitive information.
    • Crimes that use computer networks or devices to advance other ends include cyberstalking, fraud and identity theft, information warfare, and phishing scams.
    • Other forms of fraud may be facilitated using computer systems, including bank fraud, identity theft, extortion, and theft of classified information.
    • The victim of identity theft (here meaning the person whose identity has been assumed by the identity thief) can suffer adverse consequences if he or she is held accountable for the perpetrator's actions.
    • Identity fraud is often but not necessarily the consequence of identity theft.

  • Services as Solutions

    • This chip will ensure the card cannot be duplicated and provides extra security measures to consumers who use the credit cards and reduces the threat of identity theft.
    • Applying this technology is just one of the many services Visa can implement to protect their consumer product offerings against identity theft.

  • Avoiding Potential Fraud

    • Instant messaging directing users to enter details at a fake website that has a look and feel almost identical to the legitimate one
    • In addition to phishing and illegal hacking, online consumers can also fall victim to purchase frauds, car theft (via websites such AutoTrader), real estate fraud (via websites such as Craigslist), illegal wire transfers, online auctions, retail schemes and call tag scams.
    • If someone attempts to steal the user's online identity, these companies assist the user with securing their online information and paying for the services needed to help them recover their information and resolve the situation.
    • Erasing the hard drive can reduce the possibility of identity theft and other forms of fraud.

  • Naming Brands

    • Security chips added to Visa credit card provide extra security measures to protect against identity theft.

  • White-Collar Crime

    • White-collar crime, is similar to corporate crime, because white-collar employees are more likely to commit fraud, bribery, ponzi schemes, insider trading, embezzlement, cyber crime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery .
    • Much of Sutherland's work was to separate and define the differences in blue-collar street crimes such as arson, burglary, theft, assault, rape, and vandalism, which are often blamed on psychological, associational, and structural factors.

  • Types of Crime

    • Property crime is a category of crime that includes burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism.
    • In 2005, only 18% of reported cases of larceny/theft were cleared in the United States.
    • Hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, sex, or gender identity.

  • Theories of Deviance

    • Individuals may engage in deviant or criminal behavior because they lack the physical resources necessary to survive, committing property crimes like thefts or selling drugs in order to procure such resources.
    • Labeling theory argues that people become deviant as a result of people forcing that identity upon them and then adopting the identity.Labels are understood to be the names associated with identities or role-sets in society.
    • First, once a deviant identity is adopted, it is often the case that the past behaviors of the now deviant individual are re-interpreted in light of the new identity.
    • The process of re-casting one's past actions in light of a current identity is referred to as retrospective labeling.
    • By pushing the sex offender identity into public purview, sex offenders, regardless of current behavior, are stigmatized; they are stuck with a deviant identity that overwhelms any other identity they may have.

  • Deviance

    • This practice represents a luxury, as heterosexual white males can afford to temporarily assume this different identity, knowing that they can return to the comforts of their regular socioeconomic status.
    • Examples of formal deviance include robbery, theft, rape, murder, and assault.

  • Property Crime

    • Property crime is a category of crime that includes larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, vandalism, and burglary .
    • Theft of cash is most common, followed by vehicle parts, clothing, and tools.
    • In 2005, only 18% of reported cases of larceny and theft were cleared in the United States .
    • Only 13% of reported motor vehicle theft cases were cleared in the United States in 2005.
    • An example of theft: someone took everything except for the front wheel.

  • "Free" Versus "Open Source"

    • These dilemmas came to a community that was already poised for an identity crisis.
    • The term "free software" has been misunderstood by business persons, who mistake the desire to share with anti-commercialism, or worse, theft.
    • There's the use of the word "theft" to refer (presumably) to illegal copying—a usage that many object to, on the grounds that it's not theft if the original possessor still has the item afterwards.