Seethala Baskar, BBA; LL.B. (Hons.), School of Law, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
ABSTRACT
One of the cybercrimes with the quickest rate of growth is identity theft. The average public is unaware of how much personal information they disclose across all Internet services recommended by search engines, social networking platforms, e-commerce websites, and many others. It has become a simpler, more alluring, and more lucrative crime as a result of social and corporate changes. When a victim learns that their identity has been misused, the process of healing must start, along with any problems that may have been brought on by the misuse. This may only need a short amount of time and effort for some victims, while for others, problems may persist for years after the initial moment of discovery. are also unaware that this data is simple to gather, extract, and link together, making it possible for imposters to steal identities and commit crimes like amassing debt in another person's name or taking advantage of the victim's assets. Therefore, it would be prudent to keep your profile private rather than public and to disclose less personal information about yourself online as there may be potential imposters or criminals lurking and looking for an opportunity to commit identity fraud. The FTC reports that identity fraud cases grew by over 45% in 2020, costing American citizens a ton of money. Children are becoming more frequently the targets of identity fraud, according to the security firm. Children have long been a target for credit card theft and abuse of Social Security numbers, but it seems like the problem is becoming worse. In 2020, over a million kids were victims of ID theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission. This paper presents a depth explanation about Identity theft. I will also discuss its types, Legislation in India, how it is processed & Measures to prevent it.
Keywords: Identity theft, Information Technology Act, Scam, Phishing, Malware, Money laundering
