What are the causes and effects of identity theft?

What are the Causes and Effects of Identity Theft?
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What are the causes and effects of identity theft?
Identity theft is one of the common crimes in the world that occurs both physically and on the cyberspace. It refers to the deliberate use of another person’s identity to acquire certain benefits such as financial advantage and property. This crime is common in the financial sector in terms of credit card fraud (Solove, 2002). Identity theft is one of the most common crimes in the United States and is caused by easy access of personal information on the internet. Therefore, it can lead to financial fraud and false imprisonment of the victims.
The internet is one of the major platforms and enhancer of identity theft today. The development of the internet contributed to the establishment of online banking and shopping in the developed nations. People who are unable to acquire certain products such as designer clothing and cars tend to establish means of acquiring these products through identity theft (Norberg, Horne & Horne, 2007). In this case, they use the internet to access personal information about their target, which is used to access their bank accounts and other financial platforms (Hille, 2015). An identity thief uses the internet to acquire private details of their target’s credit card that is consequently used to purchase different products online.
The private information acquire from the internet can also be used to create fake documents.

The fake documents are used by fraudsters to transfer money and other properties from the actual owner (Biegelman, 2009). The private information acquired from the cyberspace can also be utilized to blackmail members of the victim’s family for financial gain. Most of the fraud cases in the United States occur through identity theft (Allison, 2005). In some instances, victims of identity theft have trouble proving their innocence to the law enforcement authorities where their identity is used to commit financial crimes.
In conclusion, the use of another person’s identity to gain a particular identity is referred as identity theft. Identity theft is caused by various factors such as the need to acquire a financial advantage and commit a financial crime in the society.

References
Allison, S. F., Schuck, A. M., & Lersch, K. M. (2005). Exploring the crime of identity theft: Prevalence, clearance rates, and victim/offender characteristics. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(1), 19-29.
Biegelman, M. T. (2009). Identity theft handbook: Detection, prevention, and security. John Wiley & Sons.
Hille, P., Walsh, G., & Cleveland, M. (2015). Consumer fear of online identity theft: Scale development and validation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 30, 1-19.
Norberg, P. A., Horne, D. R., & Horne, D. A. (2007). The privacy paradox: Personal information disclosure intentions versus behaviors. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 41(1), 100-126.
Solove, D. J. (2002). Identity theft, privacy, and the architecture of vulnerability. Hastings Lj, 54, 1227.