Protecting Personal Information in the Era of Identity Theft: Just how Safe is our Personal Information from Identity Thieves?

Abstract

Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing white collar crimes in the world. It occurs when an individual's personal information such as inter alia his or her name, date of birth or credit card details is used by another individual to commit identity fraud. Identity theft can be committed via physical means or online. The increased use of the Internet for business and financial transactions, social networking and the storage of personal information has facilitated the work of identity thieves. Identity theft has an impact on the personal finances and emotional well-being of victims, and on the financial institutions and economies of countries. It presents challenges for law enforcement agencies and governments worldwide. This article examines how identity thieves use the personal information of individuals to commit identity fraud and theft, and looks at legislative solutions introduced in South Africa, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and India to combat identity theft crimes. The article examines measures introduced by the respective governments in these countries to counteract such crimes. Finally, the article will propose a way forward to counteract such crimes in the future. The study reveals that identity theft is a growing and evolving problem that requires a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary approach by law enforcement agencies, businesses, individuals and collaboration between countries. It is advocated that businesses and institutions should take measures to protect personal information better and that individuals should be educated about their rights, and be vigilant and protect their personal information offline and in cyberspace.

A systematic literature review on cybercrime legislation

“…12 However, the penalties imposed are not strong enough in deterring the cybercriminals from committing the crimes in cyberspace that there is a constant rising of cybercrime cases around the world. 13 Cybercrimes relating to integrity, confidentiality and accessibility of computer systems are mostly regarded as specific cyber offenses in many jurisdictions, whereas offences such as fraud, breach of privacy and identity offences are regarded as general cyber offences. 14 Those countries which impose criminal penalties or criminalise cybercrime use different methodology in application such as Finland regulates cyber offences via the new chapters of penal code.…”

Issues and challenges with changing perspective of time in cyber tort

“…If one look at the Indian Penal code and read carefully the sections 24 and 25 , one would see that the terms dishonestly and fraudulently have been defined there. After carefully reading it with the newest addition in the IT Act , 15 it can be suggested that the identity theft is an intentional act on part of the perpetrator . This act can be anything and can include using the victim's electronic signature, password, or any other unique identification feature with the purpose of causing deliberate harm to the victim either by any of the following measure like downloading, extracting, or copying it.…”

Telegram, Signal of WhatsApp? Keuse van ’n geskikte toep om mobiele leeromgewings vir Suid-Afrikaanse hoëronderwyskontekste te skep

“…Hierdie inligting is waardevol vir kuberdiewe omdat identiteitsdiefstal daarmee gepleeg kan word. Cassim (2015)…”