Identity theft is a crime in which an individual uses someone else’s personal information such as social security number, account number, name, bank account numbers, among other things, for malicious use. Examples of identity theft are financial identity theft, tax identity theft, and criminal identity theft, among different types. Connectedly, the paper discusses the adverse effects of identity theft on people.
Through data breaches, a thief may get access to an individual’s bank account details. When account details land in the wrong hands, the thief may decide to borrow using someone’s details or even withdraw money without their knowledge. This might negatively impact the owner's financial position, such as investments, mortgages, and even interfere with businesses and family running, among other things (Lai et al., 2012). Also, there may be extra-legal charges when reclaiming the account stolen, which might be challenging to raise the penalties.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Identity theft might cause both the emotional and physical drain of the affected person. About 25% of identity theft victims feared for their physical safety, another 40% of victims experienced anger and stress, body pains, and fatigue. 35% more of the victims complained about lacking appetite and unable to sleep well (Lai et al., 2012). From this research, it was apparent that, indeed, identity theft interfered with an individual's well-being.
Through the emerging trends in technology, the internet has become part and parcel of our daily lives. By surfing the net using unsafe browsers, a hacker might access an individual's email address and passwords to social media accounts (Romanosky et al., 2011). In such a situation, a hacker might create fraudulent accounts and use them to con people. The action may damage the reputation and ruin the relationship of the individual with the victims conned.
In conclusion, other than financial loss, victims of identity theft might face serious health issues resulting from stress and illnesses associated with stress. Trauma arising from identity theft might take ages to heal; therefore, it is imperative to make sure your data is well kept. Various security requirements for logins should be strictly adhered to for the case of institutions.
References
Lai, F., Li, D., & Hsieh, C. T. (2012). Fighting identity theft: The coping perspective. Decision Support Systems , 52 (2), 353-363.
Romanosky, S., Telang, R., & Acquisti, A. (2011). Do data breach disclosure laws reduce identity theft? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management , 30 (2), 256-286.
