Identity Theft By:Annalee Vanfossen

What is Identity theft? Faking someone’s identity who is not yours Trying to achieve something while using fake identification Involves social security, identification card, even bank and credit cards in common cases.

Identity Theft Stealing someone's private information Going through a great deal of trouble to get access to person information Stealing mail to get access of social, bank numbers, id numbers, and etc.

Examples Michael Williams of Palmdale was sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $787,086 in restitution. Mike Nikos of Los Angelos was sentenced for 15 months prison and ordered to pay $104,662 in restitution. According to court documents both men filed for numerous amounts of peoples taxes and claimed them from may 2008 through july 2010.

Weird but True Examples “ Ivy League Imposter”- Elizabeth Esther Reed was able to get into Harvard and Columbia by using the name of a missing women from South Carolina she was able to go to school and obtain a job. She was featured on America’s Most Wanted and eventually plead guilty to fraud and identity theft. Sentenced to four years. On the left Elizabeth reed, On the right missing Brooke Henson who’d been missing for 8 years.

Weird but True Examples “Catch Him if you can”- Frank Abagnale in the 1960s impersonated characters such as an airline pilot, doctor, assistant attorney general, and history professor during so racking up 4 million dollars in bad checks. He was eventually caught and convicted but now serves as one of the privacy laws and owns a business fighting the same crime he committed.

Weird but True Examples “ Dr.No”-Gerald Barnes really wanted to become a doctor. He was willing to do anything except go to medical school. He made a career of stealing mds from doctors and establishing himself based on them. Every time he got caught when he came out of jail he did it again.

Always paper shred mail after reading it. Strengthen personal information on computers, devices, bank accounts. Make passwords longer harder to hack. Avoid easily guessed pins. Never store passwords on your computer. Protect your computer Beware of internet scams, don’t give your social security number away to anyone. Protect mail get it on time, if out or on vacation have a trustful neighbor or relative receive mail. Always carry your wallet or bag safely. Don’t give away information to people about your identity, credit cards, how much you make, etc. Be cautious when shopping online, make sure cite is real and payment cite is real. Never answer spam s. Stay alert when out shopping or atm and banks for people looking at your card or account. Watch what you carry in your wallet, a lot of people carry social cards, id, birth certificate, keep social card in a safe place at home like a safe. Don’t carry blank checks around or past checks. How can you avoid this?

Stastics Fastest growing crime Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totalling upwards of $50 billion Parents can request a credit report for your children to help prevent child identity theft. 47% of victims have trouble getting credit or a loan as a result of identity theft. $21 Billion dollars in the U.S. of identity theft realted in People between ages have the highest rates of ID theft People over age 65 are less likely to experience ID theft but spend more time resolving problems when a theft occurs. In 2008, credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft

Questions How does the imposter take your identity? It is easy. All that is needed is your social security number, your birth date and other identifying information such as your address and phone number and whatever else they can find out about you Where does the impersonator get information about you? Lots of places- your doctor, accountant, lawyer, dentist, school, place of work, health insurance carrier, How can you stop the fraud? As soon as you are made aware of the fraud (usually a creditor will contact you or you will be denied credit, or you will see charges that are not yours on bills) you must immediately contact the three major credit reporting agencies by phone and letter to put a fraud alert on your credit profile Should you change your social security number if you are a victim of identity- theft? In most cases this is a bad idea. You have had that number for many years and it is attached to many documents, including your credit report and various other private and governmental documents

Sources IRS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May "Ivy league thief sentenced to 4 years." The Forensic Psychology Student Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May identity-theft?site_id=%3Amaster_db%3A identity-theft?site_id=%3Amaster_db%3A