How Identity Theft Occurs

Identity theft is becoming one of the most common crimes against the elderly in the world today and much of the activity of identity theft centers around online activity. With this type of activity, you could lose much of your online identity and the thief could take advantage of your credit. In 2010, about 8.6 million households were negatively affected by identity theft in some way. With such high numbers of people being affected, figuring out how identity theft occurs and \ then how to stop it is essential.

Online identity theft can occur in many different ways. One common technique that identity thieves use is a phishing scam. With a phishing scam, the scam artist sets up a fake website or e-mail that looks like it is from a legitimate source. When you enter you login credentials into the e-mail or site, the thief then has your information and can use it to access your account.

In other cases, a hacker can simply gain access to your e-mail or other online accounts. This can be done with advanced software or simply by guessing a password. Once the hacker has access to your account, he can do many different things that will affect you negatively. In some extreme cases, the hacker could login to your bank account and transfer money out of it.

When you enter your personal information into questionable websites, it could be misused. For example, if someone took your Social Security number, he could use it to open new credit accounts in your name. The thief could also ask for a credit line increase on one of your credit card accounts and then use the credit with this information.

It is estimated that over $1 Trillion of property is stolen each year through cyber-crime and this amount continues to increase each year.

Ghosting

Another form of identity theft is Ghosting. This involves the stealing not only an individual's identity but even the role of the deceased individual (Ghost). Usually, the person who steals this identity (Ghoster) is roughly the same age that the ghost would have been if still alive. The purpose of ghosting is to enable the ghoster to claim for his or her own use an existing, dormant identity that is already listed in government records. A ghoster can obtain a passport or Social Security benefits in the name of a deceased individual because the agencies in charge of those services do not routinely cross-check an applicant's history to determine if a Death Certificate has been issued in that person's name.

Surprisingly, it is easier for a female to appropriate a deceased individual's identity than it is for a man. A female ghoster can steal the identity of a deceased female who had married and taken her husband's name. Detection is more difficult in this case because the Death Certificate and the Birth Certificate will show two different surnames. Also, gaps in the ghost identity's employment history (the years between the ghost's death and the date when the ghoster claims that identity) will arouse less suspicion if the impostor is a female, who might conceivably have spent the transition years as a homemaker with no wages.

John Breyault of the National Consumers League is quoted as saying, "Consumers can go online, on any number of sites, and get an individual's full name, date of birth and full Social Security number, which we call the holy trinity of personally identifiable information." The House Ways and Means' Subcommittees on Social Security and Identity Theft held a hearing on this growing problem. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, told lawmakers that while processing Tax Returns in 2011, the IRS managed to flag and stop 940,000 returns that appeared to involve identity theft. The refunds requested on those returns totaled $6.5 billion. In May of 2014, IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller said that as of mid-April, his agency had already flagged 91,000 Tax Returns that were filed under the names of recently deceased individuals.

The identities of deceased individuals are not just being stolen for tax-related fraud. A recent report from a fraud prevention firm, ID Analytics, showed that identity thieves also steal personal information to apply for credit cards, cell phones and anything else requiring a credit check. About 2.4 million deceased Americans get their identities stolen each year, amounting to a rate of more than 2,000 thefts per day.

Stealing Your House

The con artists start by picking out a house to steal—say, YOURS. Next, they assume your identity—getting a hold of your name and personal information (easy enough to do off the Internet) and using that to create fake IDs, social security cards, etc. Then, they go to an office supply store and purchase forms that transfer property. …After forging your signature and using the fake IDs, they file these deeds with the proper authorities, and lo and behold, your house is now THEIRS.*1