Identity theft is the crime of using someone else's personal information for self-gain. According to an article in USA Today, identity theft is surpassing traditional theft and is becoming the leading form of property crime (Anderson). The Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than 9 million individuals are victims of identity theft each year. The Justice Department puts the figure at more than 3.5 million households (Anderson). Anyone can become a victim of identity theft and it is not limited to the financial activities of one’s life. People’s identity is also stolen in order to commit criminal activities. Both activities are defined as fraud and are punishable by law if caught. Financial identity theft or fraud includes bank fraud, credit card fraud, computer and telecommunications fraud, social program fraud, tax refund fraud, and mail fraud. In fact, a total of 25 types of financial identity fraud are listed and investigated by the United States Secret Service (Obringer). In 1997, Secret Service agents made approximately 10,000 financial crime arrests which 94 percent involved identity theft (Obringer). Fifteen years later, Javelin Strategy & Research reports that over 12 million financial identity theft cases were reported (Javelin Strategy & Research). Other types of identity theft usually involve financial elements as well but are typically committed to fund some sort of criminal enterprise. Criminal activities include gaining someone else’s identity in order to enter a country, get special permits, hide one's own identity, or commit acts of terrorism. Criminal identity theft is relatively easy to commit by simply providing someone else’s name and birth date. Thieves are aware that evidence will point to the victim and not at the perpetrator. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, criminal identity theft occurs when an imposter provides another person’s name and personal information to law enforcement during an investigation or upon arrest. The identity thief may also have possession of counterfeit documents that use another person’s data. Identity theft can simply start with lost or stolen wallets, stolen mail, a data breach, computer virus, scams, or paper documents thrown out into the trash. Prior to the use of computers, people filled out paper applications for many financial activities such as major purchases, mortgages, insurance, and credit cards as well as opening bank accounts. This paper application contained one’s personal information including financial data and social security numbers were viewed or reviewed by various people. Access to this data led to some of the identity thefts that occurred. Other identity thefts were committed by people who pretend to work for legitimate companies and they convince people to reveal their personal information either in person, on the telephone, or by email (Anderson). The computer has become has become an essential part of people’s daily life. It has also become a gold mine for someone looking to steal a person’s identity. Thieves can gain immediate access to information on a stolen or hacked computer. Personal information stored on a computer can lead to identity theft or fraud (Erwin). Victims of identity theft sometimes suffer more than just the inconvenience of having to replace their credit and debit cards. When a stolen identity is used to apply for additional lines of credit, some victims can spend years trying to resolve bad debt run up by thieves in their names (Anderson). Others struggle to borrow money because of the damage to their credit scores. And still other victims of identity theft have been forced to file bankruptcy and lose their homes. Identity theft can be a difficult crime for a victim. Their life is altered and they are faced with tasks they don’t know how to handle. Identity theft and fraud comprise a wide array of crimes committed under vastly different circumstances. It is the act of using stolen personal information for personal gain regardless of the crime committed and it places the burden of proving innocence on the shoulders of the victim.

Works Cited
How Identity Theft Works by Lee Ann Obringer http://www.howstuffworks.com/identity-theft.htm
Identity theft growing, costly to victims by J. Craig Anderson http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/04/14/identity-theft-growing/2082179/
More Than 12 Million Identity Fraud Victims in 2012 According to Latest Javelin Strategy & Research Report Feb 20, 2013 https://www.javelinstrategy.com/news/1387/92/1
Derek Erwin Why Your Computer is a Target for Identity Theft http://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/why-your-computer-is-a-target-for-identity-theft/