Identity theft refers to an act of impersonating someone with a view to harm him/her financially or illegally framing him/her for a crime. Personal information can be extracted through the computer databases at work place. Although it is a broader term but its effect narrows down to offences like credit card fraud or mortgage fraud. In this context, there are two terms, which are used interchangeably. One is identity theft and other is identity fraud.



Contributors to The Crime

The lenders are the ones who aggravate the situation. They willingly extend credit without peripheral contact with the concerned person. Nowadays there is a trend of transacting business on line or via telephone. Such practice can further be held responsible for lending unauthorized access of personal information to unknown people.

The rules, laws and other regulations imposed by the government of a particular country on its erstwhile citizens play a vital role in eradicating such frauds. In some countries, there is a practice of issuing ID cards to the citizens as a proof of their identity. Here it is definitely not a cakewalk to commit such a fraud. In some of the countries Social Security, numbers are used as identity proofs.

Early Precautions

It is necessary on the part of individuals to take enough precautions in order to save their skin.

·You must keep a check on the credit feedbacks regularly.

·You must keep an eye on the bank accounts.

·You must avoid use of cellular phones to discuss certain confidential details.

·In case of online shopping, you must be careful about the company and ensure a security number is allotted to everyone logged in.

·You must avoid carrying documents of identity with yourself.

·You must thoroughly verify the details of the persons before dealing with them.

Identity thefts are one of the fastest accelerating crimes all over the world. The legal system of a country must tackle such frauds at war footing, as the extent of real damage is not easy to ascertain. It is the identity of a person, which is put at stake.