Awareness of Identity Theft among Mature Students - Essay Example

Identity theft has been a serious issue. It has become one of the fastest-growing crimes in the US and in the UK. A 2007 report shows that in the UK, GBP 1.7 billion is lost annually and about 10,000 fell victims in 2006 (Staff Writer, 2007). In the US, though the figure has decreased, still about 8.4 adult Americans are victims of identity fraud (Javelin, 2007). Serious and rampant as it is, awareness of this type of crime was not immediately high. Identity awareness drives had to be conducted to inform more people of the danger of falling victim to the frauds.

It is important that we become aware of their existence before they steal who we are. It is important, most especially for students, to know when and when not to give away certain personal information. But before giving precautions as to how to avoid identity thieves, it is necessary to have a figure as to what fraction of the population is actually aware that frauds like these exist. A look at the history of fraud cases might help measure the level of awareness that has come to arise throughout the years.

The number of identity fraud cases in the UK has continued to rise since eight years ago. From a mere 9,000 cases in 1999, the number increased to 24,000 in the 2001, 46,000 in 2003, and almost doubled to 80,000 in 2006. As recorded, dealing with this crime has cost the UK government GBP1.5 billion in 2005 (CIFAS).In other parts of the world, particularly the US, fraudulent activities are more rampant and damaging. For instance, US lenders were reported to have lost about USD 1 billion. In Canada, a loss of about CAND 21.

8 million was recorded in 2003 because of the 14,526 cases (Report on identity theft).Looking back at a 2005 investigation by the Which! Magazine, results showed that about one-fourth of UK adults had been victims of identity fraud. This has cost the UK government about GBP1.3 billion annually. The same investigation found out that awareness of the crime has increased, with two-thirds of the individuals now concerned with the crime. "Which found that 33 per cent of adults don't take any precautions to beat the ID thieves, while 18 per cent shred their documents but still use a single password for all online banking; a similar number don't shred documents but make use of several different passwords, while 31 per cent take both precautions" (Best, 2005).

After looking at statistics of how the number of identity fraud cases has continued to rise, it is then important to take a look at how people usually fall victim to frauds, and how personal information are given away.There are several ways by which a fraudster can acquire information needed to steal your identity. For one, phishing occurs over the internet. This is an easy way for thieves to get away with important account numbers and such. This may be obtained through online dating services and even job applications online.

Phishing scams happen when thieves pose as employees of legitimate companies verifying information over the phone or online. And as a study shows, 92 per cent of people in London will give information to a stranger (Thomson, 2005).Another way is by engaging in casual conversations. It may