1. WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT?  Identity thieves take your personal information and use it to harm you in various ways, including these:  User names, passwords, and PIN numbers  Social Security numbers  Phone and utility account numbers  Bank and credit card numbers  Employment and student identification numbers 1

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION  Driver’s license and passport numbers  Methods that thieves obtain personal information  Protecting consumer information  Rights to the consumer if have discovered information has been stolen  Realization that the government has limited responsibility to recognize potential threats  Helping the consumer to recognize the potential threats and to respond to the treat the best way possible. 2

3. METHODS THAT THIEVES OBTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION  Thieves implemented the use of phishing where they are able to send spam and pop-up messages to get the consumer to reveal information.  Other programs such as bots that have the ability to stay on a computer for months at a time  collecting personal information such as password, banking information, and internet usage  Or even frequently used email addresses as well  Trojan programs are able to perform a man- in the middle attack valid transactions by silently changing your bank account details to there’s.  They also use a Trojan program that makes the malware more aggressive on the computer. 3

4. PROTECTING CONSUMER INFORMATION  Get in the habit of shredding all sensitive documents  Renewing credit reports every year  Reviewing credit card statements  Removing mail as soon as possible  Delete or throw away any mailing bills or other documents  Delete as soon as possible personal information from and unsecure mail box. 4

5. RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMER IF THEY HAVE DISCOVERED INFORMATION HAS BEEN STOLEN  Place a fraud alert on he/she’s credit report and review the report  Close all accounts that they know or believed to know  File a police repot  Finally file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission  The costumer should also understand the their rights as a victim  When documenting a thief there are three types of reports used a police report, an identity theft report, and a FTC complaint 5

6. 6

7. REALIZATION THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS LIMITED RESPONSIBILITY TO RECOGNIZE POTENTIAL THREATS  The government position on identity theft is that varies from state to state  However across the board the promote the consumer to remain educated about identity theft  The government also by law has to prosecute those thieves that are caught with serious penalties. 7

8. 8

9. HELPING THE CONSUMER TO RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL THREATS AND TO RESPOND TO THE TREAT THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.  Ways of preventing is by understanding the mediums that thieves use to obtain potential damaging information  The victim also may place a 90-day to 7 year fuad alert  The victim should also get a free copy of their credit report and summary of their rights from each reporting agency  In order to do this the victim will need to submit a copy of a valid theft report  The victim should also get a copy of there credit report and summary of there rights from each agency  Ask the reporting companies to block the fraudulent information from appearing on their reports 9

10. WORK CITED  "About Identity Theft - Deter. Detect. Defend. Avoid ID Theft." FTC..  Daniels, Peggy. "Identity Theft is a Growing Problem." Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. 2012. Cecil College..  "Deter: Minimize Your Risk." Ftc.Gov. Ftc. <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/  idtheft/consumers/deter.html>.  "Identity Theft Victims' Statement of Rights." FTC. Federal Trade Commission..  Marshall, Patrick. "Cybersecurity." CQ Researcher 13.33 (2003): 797-820. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. 26 Sept. 2003. Cecil College. 29 Jan. 2008.  Obringer, Leeann. "How Identity Theft Works." How Stuffworks..  "Stop. Think. Click." Onguard Online. Sept. 2012..  "Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft." Federal Trade Commission. Feb. 2012. Federal Trade Commission. <http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pu  bs/consumer/idtheft/idt04.shtm>.  "Top 10 Cybersecurity Menaces for 2008Listed: Expect Increased Attacks on Web Browser, More Botnets, and Sophisticated Cyberespionage, According to the Annual SANS Institute Report. "Information Week"" Expanded Academic ASAP.Gale. 15 Jan. 2012. Cecil College..  "5 Things Identity Thieves Do to Steal Your Life H2.0." NewsBank Popular Science. Apr. 2013. Cecil College.. 10