With the rise of the Internet and many automated services, “identity theft” has become a common concern. Generally defined as the stealing of someone’s identity for financial or other gain, there are a number of different ways and many different channels through which identity theft can happen. Most often this accomplished by obtaining another person’s personal identification information and impersonating that person’s identity on the Internet.
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Legal or statutory definitions of identity theft attempt to cover all of the broader implications of identity fraud. Tennessee, for instance, has adopted the Tennessee Identity Theft Deterrence Act of 1999 and the Identity Theft Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 in attempt to prevent identity theft and to provide some relief to those whose identification information has been stolen. Congress has also passed multiple bills dealing with identity theft, including the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008.
Under the Tennessee Theft Deterrence Act, “identity theft” means obtaining, possessing, transferring, using or attempting to obtain, possess, transfer or use, for unlawful economic benefit, one or more identification documents, personal identification numbers or financial documents of another person.
The Tennessee Identity Theft Victims Rights Act defines identity theft as “a crime by someone who knowingly obtains, possesses, buys, or uses, the personal identifying information of another with the intent to commit any unlawful act in the name of such other person and without their consent or other lawful authority” (emphasis added).
As awareness has grown (and for many other reasons), the instances of identity theft appear to have leveled out over the past couple of years, however the threat of identity theft from people or organizations outside the United States remains high. While there are no 100% guaranteed ways to prevent identity theft, you can protect yourself by implementing these tips:
- Change your internet passwords regularly
- Monitor your bank and credit card statements carefully
- Shred sensitive documents
- Monitor your credit report (at least annually)
- Consider obtaining fraud alert or credit freeze protection, which prevents companies from accessing your credit without you unfreezing your report records
Ultimately, best way defense against identity theft is vigilance, which will allow you to take proper action at the first sign that something might be wrong.
