The Case of Identity Theft

Stated from Investopedia, Identity theft is the crime of using the personal or financial information of another person to commit fraud, such as making unauthorized transactions or purchases. This case is commonly found in digital medias, mostly appearing as financial scams. Financial identity theft is the most common type of identity theft.

As an example, take a look at Philip Cummings’s case as he was responsible for the largest identity theft case in the history of United States. It all started when he worked as a help desk for a software company in Long Island. He then quitted and took a spreadsheet containing customer login credentials. Between 2001 and 2002, he sold customers’ credit reports to scammers for around $30 each. The scammers that were affiliated with him was reported to netted between $50 to $100 million from roughly 33,000 customers. After the report, in 2005, Philip Cummings pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment due to data breach.

Since this case had happened, data breaches are now happening at an unprecedented rate. In this situation, we have to be skeptical enough in making sure the amount of sensitive information that we give companies are limited. Additionally, we should always protect our banking information, credit file, and social security number. In the end, being aware and proactive about protecting your personal information can make a real difference in keeping your identity safe and avoiding data breach.

-By Nasya