Identity Theft Throughout History

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Identity Theft
I’ve decided to write my research paper on the issue of identity theft. Identity theft has occurred all throughout history in various ways and forms. Today, it is one of the fastest growing crimes occurring all over the world. Data suggests that identity theft accounts for roughly $50 billion stolen each year from citizens and businesses in the U.S. I believe that more attention should be targeted towards identity theft because of the detrimental effects it can have on a single victim and on our nation’s economy. Topics I will discuss include statistics about the crime, laws that protect the victims of the crimes, and what we are doing to prevent future attacks from happening.
Identity theft has been around for decades, so it’s nothing new. The only difference now is that the general public and the government are aware of the problem and actively pursuing strategies to combat it. However, identity theft wasn’t always about stealing someone’s credit card information or trying to extort large amounts of cash. It began mostly as a political tool to stuff ballot boxes or used by teenagers to obtain fake ID’s in order to get around laws that prohibited underage people from participating in certain activities such as drinking alcohol. In more recent years however, identity theft has become much more sophisticated and advanced. With the help of computers and advanced technology, identity theft, especially through the electronic world, has become easier and easier for criminals to acquire. (FBI) Most people who engage in the illegal act typically use it for economic gain, essentially to get rich. As any crimes go, identity theft is a nonviolent crime that is relatively easy to conceal which attracts more people to at...

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...ing personal information.
Identity theft is no new problem in our world. It has occurred for decades and only grows more popular with criminals. Due to our world’s expanding technology, identity theft is becoming easier to commit and harder to detect. Luckily as the criminals technology becomes more advanced, so does out justice system’s technology to help fight the crime. The number of criminals that engage in the fraud and thievery will only grow due to the lucrative nature of the crime, but also will the forces that are established to stop them. This white-collar crime will gain more attention and therefore more laws will be passed to protect the public from becoming victims. With the use of laws, task forces, and the education and awareness of the public, identity theft will be given more attention and focus to hopefully deter future threats from occurring.

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