Intellectual Property
E. Leonard Rubin · 2012
Identity theft is a fraud committed using the identifying information of another person. Identity theft may also be referred to as an identity fraud, since the possession of another person's identifiable information is not necessarily a crime, but the subsequent frauds committed using that information are. Identity theft has become a problem for which technology providers and law enforcement officials are still struggling to find an adequate solution. Identity theft is not a new crime; identity theft landed on the radar of some public agencies as early as 1992. Currently there are some misconceptions surrounding identity theft. Perhaps the most common misconception is that identity theft is a newer phenomenon. Furthermore, many believe that the Internet and related technology are the reasons for the recent rapid ascent of identity theft. The Internet and other electronic sources are not the main facilitators to stealing one's identity; most current data indicates that offline methods, such as mail theft and dumpster diving, are the predominant ways to commit an identity theft. This chapter provides a detailed description of identity theft, how it has become a prevalent crime, privacy protection and how to implement it.