When Did Identity Theft Originate?

Posted by Paul Wilcox

October 27, 2008

by Paul Wilcox

Identity theft is a huge problem in our modern world. This criminal activity not only hurts the organizations that are never paid, but also the individuals that have had their identities stolen. It also harms the general public because we are forced to pay the extra fees and higher interest rates companies must charge to make up for the money lost through these crimes. Although the origin of identity theft may seem difficult to pinpoint, it is really simply a part of a crime that has been a part of human history since prehistory. That crime is of course thievery.

Is Identity Theft Creative or Just Stealing?

At it’s simplest, identity theft is just a form of stealing. It can actually be traced back before the internet. A recent movie called “Catch Me If You Can” portrays the life of a conman. He lived his life as someone else of various professions often carrying out check fraud.

In this movie you can see simple identity theft. This has eventually turned into a modern day form of identity theft. People have just simply become better at it using the modern day conveniences of the internet and e-mail to not only to take on someone else’s profession but now also become that person.

One of these ways this is done is by e-mail. An e-mail containing a virus can be sent to you to gather your personal information from your computer. The best way to stop this is by not opening e-mails if you don’t recognize the sender. You need to read the information provided in the subject line and who has sent it to you.

In many cases these will be misspelled or obvious spam. Never open these spam emails. Keep your computers anti-virus program updated and running in the background at all times.

Another way these criminals are able to get information is by simply checking the trash that leaves your house. Never throw away paperwork that shows your social security number, birth date, account numbers, or other identify information.

It doesn’t really matter when identity theft originated. What is most important is that as individuals, we are careful with our personal information to protect ourselves against this offense.

About the Author:

Did you know identity theft can happen over the internet? If you’re not running the right kind of pc security, your personal information can be stolen. Find out how to protect yourself at the Security Manor website. Visit http://www.securitymanor.com for more information

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.