The Problem of Identity Theft

indistinguishability thieves faecal matter vex bank accounts, make unauthorized purchases, obtain loans, or differently defraud the individual.

Identity theft is not limited to monetary fraud. Dutta (2003, October) tells of a California man lost his wallet art object on vacation in Florida in 1987. The man who free-base it used the dupe's information to escape the law for 12 years, and, ahead he was finally discovered, his victim had been arrested and held in jail for more than a week on one of the thief's outstanding warrants for a crime committed under the stolen identity (p. 201). Identity theft can be used to cover terrorist activity, illegal immigration status, and other activities.

How widespread is the problem? Stafford (2004) observes, "According to the FTC (2003), over 9.9 jillion people were victims of identity theft during the 12 months prior to the report, and the spill to consumers has been estimated at $5 billion, . . . [and] on average, an individual spends 30 hours difficult to resolve the consequences associated with the theft" (p. 201). Dutta (2003, October) puts these estimates much higher(prenominal): "The average victim spends 175 hours and $808 in out-of-pocket expenses in clearing his bear on" (p. 290). Most authorities cogitate that the problem may be even greater. Victims may be uncertain of where and how to report much(prenominal) theft or they may be too hangdog of having been taken advantage of so easily

Henry, V. E. (2004). Death work: Police, trauma, and the psychology of survival. New York: Oxford University Press.

Sovern (2004) "Lenders may induce losses because they cannot recover the amounts loaned to thieves. The reference work industry seems willing to cozy up these losses, however, because of the benefits that flow from easily available credit" (p. 233). Creditors often invalidate elaborate methods of verifying identity in order to avoid offending legitimate customers, which allows thieves easy access to accounts as well. temporary hookup creditors may absorb the initial be of such fraud, costs are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, higher interest rates, and stricter credit regulations.

What steps should individuals follow if they believe their identity has been stolen? The Federal Trade Commission (2005) sponsors a website to administer information on ID theft. It outlines four steps that consumers should take if they suspect their identity has been stolen: putting a fraud alert on their credit file with one of the three major credit bureaus, closing any specific accounts that have been tampered with or clear fraudulently, filing a constabulary report (which is often mandatory to take further action in clearing up the individual's credit), and filing a complaint with the FTC. The FTC, which does not have brutal investigation authority in cases of identity theft, nevertheless maintains an Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, a database of more than 815,000 complaints filed nationally which can be used by police to help go after violators.

Baker, T. E., & Baker, J.P. (1996, October). Preventing police suicide. Retrieved on September 21, 2005, at: Http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/1996/oct966.txt/

Unquestionably, police work is an often demanding and stressful job. Whether or not it encourages unsafe impulses to a greater degree than other professions, police officers and their supervisors should be encouraged to deal o
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