Discuss identity theft as a cybercrime

What will be an ideal response?

In identity theft—or ID theft—one person steals information about another person to pose as that person and take the innocent person's money or property or to purchase goods and services using the victim's credit information. To commit ID theft, thieves obtain certain information about the victim. This could be the victim's name, Social Security number, credit card numbers, bank account information, and other personal information. With the use of computers, criminals can obtain the information they need to commit ID theft more easily. Credit card fraud is one of the crimes most commonly committed by ID thieves. To address the growing problem of ID theft, Congress enacted the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This statute makes it a federal crime to transfer or use, without authority, the identity of another person knowingly and with the intent to commit any unlawful activity as defined by federal law and state and local felony laws. Violators can be sentenced to prison for up to 15 years and have any property used in the commission of ID theft forfeited to the government.