Extent Of Identity Theft In Australia

Identity theft is when someone, without the consent of the owner, dishonestly uses, or intends to fraudulently use another individual’s personal identity. Personal identifying information can consist of an individual’s name, date of birth, driver’s license number, mother’s maiden name, state identification number, telephone number and other personal information that

Consideration of recommendations will significantly improve the quality and availability of data and will enhance the monitoring of identity crime and misuse throughout Australia on a permanent basis. In the future, an identity crime measurement framework will act as a minor step towards protecting the Australian society from identity theft. The National Identity Security Coordination Group (NISCG) is entailed to contract an annual identity crime measurement report for relevant Commonwealth, state and territory ministers on the extent, and impacts of the crime in

Given the widespread effects of identity theft, it’s clear to see why 18% of Australians believe they are at risk in the next 12 months. Some alarming statistics regarding identity theft are:

The government is working very hard to fight against identity theft. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act to help people who have been a victim of identity theft. This act helps to prosecute suspects that have committed crimes dealing with identity theft. Suspects can get anywhere from 15 to 30 years when it comes to identity theft. Identity theft includes credit card fraud, identification fraud, computer fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, or financial institution fraud. Not only do these suspects go to prison, but they have to pay the money back, and anything that is gained in the while committing the crime will be seized. The government works very hard with other agencies to help prosecute crimes that involve identity

Therefore, when someone uses your personal information to obtain identification, credit or even a mortgage, you become a victim of identity theft. This crime is devastating to a victim’s credit score and peace of mind.

Identity theft/fraud is becoming a major threat to the Australian community as technology advances. This section of crime produces substantial profits for offenders and causes considerable financial and emotions harm to the victims (Australian federal police, 2014). With this increasing alarm around identity theft/fraud in Australia, there has to be strong legal actions available to counteract the issue. Identity theft/fraud can be defined as a crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person for the sole purpose of assuming that person’s name or identity in order to gain benefit (investopedia, 2014). This essay will extensively discuss the current laws/legislations implemented for identity theft/fraud, the key stakeholders involved in the issue and an overview around the effectiveness of the current laws/legislations. After thoroughly analysing the current legislations used to counteract the threat of identity theft/fraud, it will be clear which aspects of the legislations are working efficiently and which aspects are proving inefficient for the Australian government.

Identity theft is said to be one of the fasting growing crimes in America. According to our textbook, the lifestyle exposure theory, explains the different levels of exposure risk and how some people are exposed to higher risk than others depending on their lifestyle. Identity theft or fraud is when someone takes illegal actions and steal someone’s personal information to gain something from it. The theft can gain access to demographic information easily from the internet to get your name, email address, telephone number, birthday, and even your physical address (Archer, 2012).

Have you ever received a credit card bill at the end of the month with a ridiculous amount of money needed to be paid that you never spent? This is because of identity theft. The FTC estimates that each year, over 9 million people are affected by identity theft. According to Sally Driscoll, this is because almost anyone with a computer and a slight bit of computer knowledge can pull off identity theft. Experts also claim that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world. Identity theft is a global problem that cannot be stopped without effective measures. The problem is, effective measures are very hard to come by when dealing with identity theft because almost any security protocol can be by-passed.

By definition “Identity theft n. the dishonest acquisition of personal information in order to perpetrate fraud, typically by obtaining credit, loans, etc., in someone else's name; fraud perpetrated in this way. ” (dictionary.oed.com, 2007). It’s estimated that 9 million Americans have had their identities stolen each year. “According to the Secret Service, its investigations show a jump in potential losses due to identity theft, from $851 million in 1998 to $1.4 billion in 2000.” add citation from how stuff works There are many ways that thieve steal your identity, they may go through your trash, steal your wallet or purse. I will discuss a lot of the different ways in more

Identity theft continues to be a problem in the United States, yet research on identity thieves is limited. Both the theoretical and empirical literature on identity theft is in their infancy. As a result, not surprisingly, not much is known about this crime and its victims.

     In 1999, an unsuspecting attorney by the name of Rosalie Pugliese was a victim of identity theft. Over a six-week period, not only did the thief run up over sixty-thousand dollars worth of goods and steal credit cards, but also the thief went on to impersonate her victim. In the Post-Gazette on August 26, 1999, staff writer Cristina Rouvalis wrote, ?The fraudulent purchases trickled in at first -- a $2,700 bill on a First Union credit card and a $18.74 AT&T cell phone bill in mid-December. Pugliese canceled both accounts -- which she had never even applied for -- and dismissed them as the work of a petty thief doing Christmas shopping on her dime.? The bills included an $8,000 cash advance at Atlantic City casinos, six thousand dollars worth of jewelry, and a seven thousand dollar Compaq laptop computer, just to name a few. This particular identity thief went above and beyond what most identity thieves do though. ?As investigators would soon discover, Pugliese's evil twin didn't just steal her name to rack up about $60,000 in debt. She stole her whole appearance, they said. She fixed her hair like Pugliese's -- a medium-length blond cut -- and sometimes tied a crisp scarf

Identity theft involves the unlawful taking of someone’s possessions for taking using the addresses and DOB without authorised access. Once someone else gets your information they are enabled to do many different things with your personal information. It usually happens when a hacker accesses a large amount of information about someone’s identity. A lot of common crimes which are usually got to do with identity theft are bank fraud and credit card fraud. Identity thieves can also do other stuff for example enter and exist countries using your personal information and cyber-crimes. Some consequences businesses and people face for identity are that you’ll be fined for sent to prison for long time.

Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud crime in America (Finklea, 2009). Gaining knowledge in preventing theft will better the economy and lower the crime rates in America. There are reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft and this number is increasing rapidly as the years go on. It has been reported that an estimate of fifty billion dollars has been charged to our consumers every year due to identity theft (Finklea, 2009).

The holding of identification information with the intent of committing, or facilitating the directive of, an indictable offence.

Identity theft – is when someone using another person personal information for the purpose to access the incomes, properties, money, credit, etc. The victim does not realize that he/she has been