Kenneth C. Laudon,Jane P. Laudon Management Information System 12th Edition pdf

Identity theft

is a crime in which an imposter

obtains key pieces of personal information, such as social security identification

numbers, driver’s license numbers, or credit card numbers, to impersonate

someone else. The information may be used to obtain credit, merchandise, or

services in the name of the victim or to provide the thief with false credentials.

According to Javelin Strategy and Research, losses from identity theft rose to

$54 billion in 2009, and over 11 million U.S. adults were victims of identity

fraud (Javelin Strategy & Research, 2010).

Identify theft has flourished on the Internet, with credit card files a major

target of Web site hackers. Moreover, e-commerce sites are wonderful sources

of customer personal information—name, address, and phone number. Armed

with this information, criminals are able to assume new identities and establish

new credit for their own purposes. 

One increasingly popular tactic is a form of spoofing called