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e unique and known only by the individual it has been issued to, but once a criminal has access
to that information, then the thief can virtually become that individual.
Information on a driver’s license alone is usually enough for identity thieves to commit numerous
acts of fr aud. The infor mation on a driver’ s license consists of the na me, address, date of birth,
and license num ber of the individual it identifies. The driver’s license is pre ferred by criminals
because it is the form of identification that contai ns an image of th e owner, according to Berghel
(2006). Whe n a license h as been obtai ned, criminals only need t o replace the picture with their
own to make the license appear credible. Cri minals also cr eate counterfeit licenses with either
actual or fictitious information for the same purpose.
Victims who knew how th eir information was stolen claim the identity thieves used si mple and
common methods. These techniques include: lost or stolen wallets, mail intercepts, and thef t by
individuals who had a relationship with the victi m (Cheney, 2003). At one time cri minals were
even able to obtain information neede d to co mmit identity theft by purchasing an individual’s
driving record from the Department of Motor Vehicles. However, this changed with the Driver’s
Privacy Protection Act of 1994, which limited access to m otor vehicle records. We are now in
the Information Age, where criminals have all the information needed to commit identit y right at
their fingertips, courtesy of the Internet.
The Internet has opened new avenue s for criminals that have made it easier to obtain personal
information needed to commit identity theft. Online transactions have risen over the past dec ade,
increasing the am ount of inform ation available to thieves. In 2002, the U.S. Depart ment of
Commerce claimed that In ternet sales grew at a r ate of 25 percent (Cheney , 2003). This means
that more consumers are using the Internet to purchase items, leaving a trail for identity thieves to
follow. Consu mers need to be aware that Intern et transactions pose threat s to their inf ormation
due to computer hackers, cookies, and other forms of online theft (Milne, 2004).
Consumers who do busine ss online become vulnera ble to identity theft because inform ation on
their personal computer, as well as their business computer, may be accessed by criminals (Milne,
2004). The reason for this vulnerabilit y can be attributed to the fact that while online, a
consumer’s inform ation, if not properl y protected, is susceptible to theft. Consum ers provide
credit card numbers and other personal inform ation when completing online transactions that can
be easily intercepted or com promised due to l ackadaisical co mputer security . An easy way to
improve security is to install a firewall and remove spyware frequently, as well as installing virus
protection.
Identification information is also at risk afte r an online transaction occu rs. Com pany’s records
now contain customer information, where their own com puter sy stem is a t risk for theft.
According to White (2005), “Intruders attack a typical US firm ’s co mputer security numerous
times in a week” (p. 850) . A business’ s computers are just as susceptible to identit y theft as a
personal computer, but they are required to have immense security measures in place to safeguard
their custo mer’s personal identity information. Ho wever, data t heft by em ployees and thieves
hacking into company databases, are more serious threats for identity theft to c ustomers (Milne,
2004).
Another concern with online transactions is th e lack of face-to-face co mmunication between the
two parties involved . Th e supplier is placing c onfidence in the indivi dual purchasing goods off
the Internet. This raises the dilemma of custom er authentica tion. Wit hout the face-to- face
contact, customer authentication becomes virtua lly unreliable. The absenc e of face-to- face
communication gives identity thieves an open door to pose as another indivi dual. Simply stated,
ASBBS E-Journal, Volume 4, No.1, 2008 48
ID Theft