Topic 1: Finalizing the Paper and Preparing for the Capstone Course  Discussion Points:As you finalize your final project/thesis, discuss your findings with the class by answering the following qu

RUNNING HEAD: IDENTITY THEFT LITERATURE REVIEW 0

Literature Review 3

According to (Brenner, 2001), both traditional and technological crimes such as identity theft can lead to loss and destruction to property, human beings, or both. Some innocent individuals can even be sent to prison due to identity theft when untrue criminal charges are reported. The reality is that some crimes may be politically motivated while others may be technical non-violations in the virtual world. In the U.S. judicial system, identity crimes involve the following critical components 3

1.Actus reus (the physical element of the offence) 3

2.Men’s rea (the liable mental condition) 3

3.Attendant circumstances (the availability of specific essential conditions) 3

4.Harm (loss or destruction of property, human being or both) 3

These components must be carefully analyzed and employed when solving an identity offence in order to avoid a prejudice. 3

Methods used by identity thieves to steal information 3

1.Dumpster diving – this is a traditional or physical method in which a thief goes through an individual’s garbage with the aim of finding personal documents that may contain credit card application information and such (Hurt, 2015). 4

2.Phishing – the thief pretends to be an important authority known by the victim, and sends an official email requesting for personal details from the victim, such as social security numbers and passwords. 4

3.Basic Theft – this is the traditional stealing of someone’s possession like wallets and hand bags that may contain important personal documents like medical records and bank statements. 4

4.Hacking – this is a cyber-crime in which a hacker gains access to a person’s computer system and retrieves sensitive information from them. 4

5.Spyware – this is a software intended to install itself on a computer and spy on the user then relay sensitive information back to the thief. 4

6.Shoulder surfing – this involves eavesdropping and prying to hear and see an unsuspecting victim give out sensitive information especially as they fill out personal documents in the bank and hospitals. 5

7.Vishing – this is phishing conducted over a phone. 5

8.Credit card skimming – the thief will capture a victim’s credit card number and sell it to the black market where it is reproduced to create more credit cards enabling different individuals to withdraw money from a victim’s account (Jakobsson, 2006). 5

Recovery steps from an identity theft. 5

1.Report an identity theft incident to any of the national credit reporting agencies 5

2.Make an effort of requesting for copies of credit reports on a regular basis. 5

3.Make detailed assessment of credit reports. 5

4.Contact the credit reporting agencies to dispute erroneous items on the report 5

5.Terminate any account that has been compromised. 5

6.Creation of identity theft reports (Saunder & Zucker, 1999). 6

Conclusion 6

Emerging technology and the lack of adequate by the public about how to protect their personal information motivates fraudsters. Accordingly, it is anticipated that identity thieves move towards using new techniques to obtain personal information particularly in online environment. Therefore, it is crucial to enhance people’s knowledge about how to protect themselves in online networks through education in the media. In terms of costs of public education, it is necessary to mention that the governments and other big corporations should consider costs as an investment rather than expenditures to make a safe society (Graeme R. Newman, 2005). 6