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Identity theft, identity fraud and/or identity-related crime

Definitions matter

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Abstract

‘Identity thieves make thousands of victims!’ is a typical headline of current e-zines. One pictures thousands of people panicking and pursuing thieves running away with their identities. Reality is different, of course. Identity criminals do no steal identities: they use identity as a tool to steal money. And the typical victim does not notice the crime until long after the criminal has booked a one-way ticket to the tropics. A good reason to have a look at the terminology of identity ‘theft’, identity fraud, and identity-related crime.

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Literature

  1. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data. January-December 2005, FTC, January 2006.

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Authors
  1. Bert-Jaap Koops
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  2. Ronald Leenes
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Additional information

Prof. Bert-Jaap Koops Professor of Regulation & Technology, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)

Dr. Ronald Leenes Associate Professor of Law & Technology, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)

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Koops, BJ., Leenes, R. Identity theft, identity fraud and/or identity-related crime. DuD 30, 553–556 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11623-006-0141-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11623-006-0141-2

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