Financial Identity Theft

The existence of financial identity theft in the United States, and its (gradual) spread to other areas of the world, increases the need to understand how identity theft occurs and how perpetrators of the crime manage to take advantage of developments within contemporary society. This book aims to provide such an understanding through an in-depth comparative analysis which illustrates how states, financial service providers, consumers, and others facilitate the occurrence of financial identity theft in the United States and the Netherlands.

Financial identity theft is well understood with clear underlying motives. Medical identity theft is new and presents a growing problem. The solutions to both problems however, are less clear. The Economics of Financial and Medical Identity Theft discusses how the digital networked environment is critically different from the world of paper, eyeballs and pens. Many of the effective identity protections are embedded behind the eyeballs, where the presumably passive observer is actually a fairly keen student of human behavior. The emergence of medical identity theft and the implications of medical data privacy are described in the second section of this book. The Economics of Financial and Medical Identity Theft also presents an overview of the current technology for identity management. The book closes with a series of vignettes in the last chapter, looking at the risks we may see in the future and how these risks can be mitigated or avoided.

The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.

Criminal masterminds like Bernie Madoff and stage magicians like David Copperfield have relied upon carefully crafted "artful dodges" to deceive their target audiences over the years and achieve their desired results-fraud or entertainment. Now, Identity Theft Secrets peels back the curtain of mystery that allows criminals to steal our most precious resources-our financial assets and reputation. Minimize your vulnerabilities and maximize your defenses using the strategies provided by author and expert Dale Penn, who comes to the subject with a unique background in insurance and risk-management training as well as personal experience fighting financial crime. You can protect your family, your business, and your credit rating through thoughtful, effective preparation. With clarity and vivid detail, Identity Theft Secrets will explain how you can - identify and secure the private information that thieves want most; - isolate areas of your life or business that need enhanced privacy protection; - close personal security loopholes that are still leaving you vulnerable; - secure the wireless technology devices that you depend on most; - create a plan to safeguard or restore your most valued private information and maintain a personal information safety zone; - navigate the Internet without the constant fear of malicious attacks. Learn to protect yourself, your business, and your loved ones from painful financial fraud; Identity Theft Secrets will show you how. "Dale Penn demystifies identity theft. This book is not just an easy read; it is a must read!" -Deborah Call, Associate Dean, USC School of Law

Contents: (1) Definitions of Identity Theft (IT): IT vs. Fraud; (2) Legis. History: IT Assumption Deterrence Act; IT Penalty Enhancement Act; IT Enforce. and Restitution Act; (3) IT Task Force: Recommend.; Legis. Recommend.; (4) Red Flags Rule; (5) Trends in IT: Perpetrators; Invest. and Prosecutions: FBI; Secret Service; Postal Inspect. Service; Social Security Admin.; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Justice Dept.; Domestic Impact: Credit Card Fraud; Document Fraud; Employment Fraud; (6) Data Breaches and IT; (7) Issues for Congress: IT Prevention: Securing Social Sec. No.; Effects of Data Breaches; Deterrence and Punishment; (8) Selected Legis. in the 111th Cong.: Social Sec. no.; Law Enforce. and Consumer Notification.

This book accurately identifies the various forms of identity theft in simple, easy-to-understand terms, exposes exaggerated and erroneous information, and explains how everyone can take action to protect themselves. Identity theft is a classic crime with a modern (and perhaps decidedly American) twist. The rise of technology over the past few decades—and its influence on the processes of modernization and globalization—has created many new opportunities for identity theft both locally and internationally. Moreover, this process has transformed the nature of identity from something largely personal to something almost purely financial. Although identity theft is not a global crime per se, it does pose a pervasive and universal threat that will need to be acknowledged and addressed by many nations throughout the world. In this text, author Megan McNally examines the concept of identity theft in universal terms in order to understand what it is, how it is accomplished, and what the nations of the world can do—individually or collectively—to prevent it or respond to it.