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.

Thieves then became bolder by lurking around peoples mailboxes. They would figure out on what days bank statements were delivered and steal them right out of mailboxes. This was a much more successful and cleaner way of obtaining information than going through someones trash.

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 first started conducting transaction online, criminals found a new, more convenient method of stealing an identity. When hacking into banking sites became tougher due to stricter security controls, the history of identity theft was advanced by the most basic concept ever to plague the public ” greed.

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.

There are many things or personal possessions that can be owned. Sometimes these items have been purchased, received as gifts or passed down from generation to generation.

In addition, those possessions can have monetary or sentimental value. Some of those items that have sentimental value can include photographs or heirlooms that have been passed down within the family.

There is another item that can be taken away from an individual, which can have devastating effects and that is their identity. There are many stories in the news today about identity theft.

One other item that can be stolen from individuals is something extremely personal. That item is a persons identity. To increase the general awareness of identity theft it is important to define identity theft. In order to define identity theft it is imperative to know how society defines identity theft and how it can occur.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is defined as an action or actions taken by another for the purpose of misrepresenting themselves as that individual in order to commit fraudulent acts. Those fraudulent acts can include the illegal accessing of a persons financial accounts, creating new credit card accounts, obtaining a loan in that persons name or even assuming another persons identity to get out of being charged with a certain crime.

Identity theft negatively impacts victims in several ways. A victim can experience financial loss, a negative credit history, or even create a criminal record history for an individual who previously had none.

Unlike other thefts of possessions, the damage from identity theft can continue for many years. As the victim has use time and money to try and clear up their negative credit history or even clear their name in criminal courts. A persons best line of defense is to learn the definition of identity theft and protect their personal information so they dont experience the negative consequences of this crime.