Running Head: IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT 1

Identity Theft, How it Affects You and How You Can Stop It
Alberto Duees Ibarra
The University of Texas at El Paso

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

Abstract
This paper analyzes articles, websites, and a book that inform the reader about identity theft. The
sources are different from each other, they provide different information about identity theft.
Hoofnagle (2009) identifies why identity theft rates remained high despite the creation of fraud
detection tools. Heyadatis article (2011) provides information on how identity theft occurs and
how it can be prevented. The government websites provide information on what identity theft is
and what should be done if fallen victim to it. With the use of the analyzed articles there will be
an analysis of how identity theft affects its victims and the community, how the criminals acquire
the information they desire, and finally how it can be prevented. In conclusion, this paper
identifies what identity theft is, how it occurs, how it can be prevented, and what to do if fallen
victim.
Keywords: Identity theft, Online Fraud, Prevention.

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

Identity Theft, How it Affects You and How You Can Stop it
Identity theft is a serious threat in the U.S. and worldwide. There is a staggering amount
of reports on Identity theft, however they all present different perspectives or ideas. Some
identify how it happens, while others identify what it is or how it can be prevented. Hoofnagles
article (2009) identifies that fraud detection tools have been developed and explores why the
identity theft levels remain high despite such tools. Heyadatis paper (2011) provides insight on
why the criminals commit the crime and how they do so. Davenports book goes in-depth on
identity theft. With the use of these sources identity theft will be analyzed. The goal of this paper
is to utilize the information and knowledge provided in the sources to explain how what identity
theft is, how it occurs, and how it can be prevented.
Definition of Identity Theft
According to the United States Department of Justice (2015), Identity theft is a crime
where someone obtains personal data that does not belong to him and utilizes it in a way that
fraud or deception is involved. The information stolen can be credit card numbers, social security
numbers, passwords, bank account information and many more. This crime can ruin the victims
credit, reputation, and possibly personal life
How Identity Theft Affects its Victims
If one understands what identity theft is, then it may be intuitive that being a victim of
identity theft mainly results in financial losses or conflicts. A criminal can only do a set amount
of things with a credit card or a social security number. The US Department of Justice (2015)
provided a case as an example to how identity theft affects its victims. The case: a man (now
convicted of felony) incurred more than 100,000 dollars of credit card debt, obtained a federal

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

home loan, and bought homes, motorcycles and handguns under the victims name. Heyadati
(2011) also shared a case relating to identity theft. A computer hacker stole 135 million debit
card numbers and obtained around 1.6 million dollars in cash, in this case the victims debit cards
were emptied. However, besides getting loans or stealing money from the victim, the criminals
can also commit crimes in the victims name (Davenport, 2008). The same source claims that
credit card theft is the most common type of identity theft, and if such is the most common then
victims will mainly suffer economic/financial tragedies. Identity theft can have devastating
results if no caution is taken to prevent it, victims can end up massively indebted.
Identity Theft Techniques and Tactics
The purpose of identifying the techniques utilized is to understand how identity theft
works, making it easier to avoid the crime and come up with solutions to prevent the crime.
There is two general types of techniques, physical and technology-based (Heyadati, 2011).
Physical Identity Theft involves stealing a credit card, wallet or anything that can be stolen.
Technology-based Identity Theft has plenty of techniques like phishing, hacking, wardriving,
social engineering, pre-texting, obtaining credit reports, and fake employment schemes.
Phishing is a technique that involves an attacker trying to acquire information by
impersonating a third-party. It is possible for the phisher to claim to be a staff member of said
party and ask for sensitive information like passwords. Hacking, or unauthorized access to a
network, is utilized to obtain personal/classified information. Wardriving involves connecting to
Wi-Fi networks and stealing personal information through the use of techniques similar to
hacking. Pre-Texting aims to trick people into giving out information, similarly to phishing
(Heyadati, 2011).

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

Physical Identity Theft involves stealing wallets, mail, going through trash, change of
address and some other methods. Mail theft allows identity thieves to access important
information in an easy manner, because the thieves can access financial statements and bills.
Tombstone theft is a type of identity theft where the thieves claim to be the insurance company
of deceased people to collect personal information. Skimming involves utilizing a device called
skimmer to copy credit and debit cards (Heyadati, 2011).
Solutions and Prevention
Now that the techniques have been identified it is possible to come up with solutions and
present them. Thieves can collect information easily if given the opportunity, which is why it is
important not to share personal information on the internet. Many companies have started
notifying their costumers that their employees will never ask for personal information, in order to
prevent identity theft. It is recommended to shred documents before throwing them away
(Heyadati, 2011), because thieves do not hesitate to go through the trash. It is important to have
an antivirus, as hackers can utilize malware like keyloggers to obtain information.
Fraud detection tools are a great way to prevent fraud. They will prevent unauthorized or
sketchy looking transactions from occurring. Companies like Iovation, Signify and Araxxe
specialize in monitoring accounts to prevent such frauds from occurring. Utilizing these tools can
help minimize the possibility of being a victim of identity theft.
If Fallen Victim
Part of solving the problem also involves aiding the victims, therefore it is important to
provide recovery steps for victims. There are different steps depending on what was stolen. The
Federal Trade Commission (2015) suggests to place a credit freeze or getting credit reports if a

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

Social Security Number is stolen or exposed. If an online password is lost, one should
immediately change the password if possible, and as well change the password to other accounts
that utilize the same password. If a debit card is lost or stolen it is recommended to contact the
banks and cancel the card immediately and to review transactions. Last but not least, if bank
account information is lost or stolen, it is very important to contact the financial institution and
close accounts.
Concluding Remarks
One of the reason identity thieves succeed despite the creation of security and identity
theft prevention tools is lack of awareness. Awareness could prevent identity on some scenarios,
especially in physical identity theft related scenarios. For example mail and trash theft could be
prevented with awareness. A person would not throw financial statements or bills on the trash
knowing that people could use them maliciously. The same applies to phishing and some
technology-based. It is only hacking that is hard to avoid, but having a monitor app should be
able to block any unrecognized transactions. Therefore in order to prevent identity theft from
growing out of control, awareness needs to be raised and there has to be implementation of the
fraud detection tools.

IDENTITY THEFT, HOW IT AFFECTS YOU AND HOW YOU CAN STOP IT.

References
Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Identity Theft Recovery Steps. Retrieved from
https://www.identitytheft.gov/
The United States Department of Justice. (n.d.). Identity Theft | Criminal Fraud.
Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/identity-theft/identitytheft-and-identity-fraud
Davenport, Candace C. (2008). The Little Book of Identity Theft. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com/books?
id=v_bzAjB1f18C&printsec=frontcover&dq=identity+theft+book&hl=es&sa=
X&ved=0CEkQ6AEwA2oVChMI47WjtszeyAIVySgmCh0tOA7#v=onepage&q=identity%20theft%20book&f=false
Hoofnagle, Chris J. (2009) Internalizing Identity Theft. The UCLA Journal of Law &
Technology, 13(2), 1-34. Retrieved from
http://www.lawtechjournal.com/articles/2009/02_100406_Hoofnagle.pdf
Hedayati, Ali. (Dec 14, 2011) An analysis of identity theft: Motives, related frauds,
techniques, and prevention. Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution, 4(1) 4-12.
DOI: 10.5897/JLCR11.044