EOTO Feedback, Part 2

Carrie Leonard’s Each One Teach One project on identity theft is good topic for everyone to become educated on, especially with figures like this staring us in the face: “Within the last twelve months, 9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft.”

I was very surprised to learn that online identity theft was not the most common form of identity theft, and that the Better Business Bureau actually recommends using an online bill pay service to prevent identity theft. I think it is the common misconception about the internet being a lawless, anonymous place that perpetuates the thought that “as long as I’m not entering my credit card information online, I’m safe.” As it turns out, you’re more likely to be victimized through your snail mail than your email, but online identity theft is still a big problem.

I agree with Carrie’s recommendation that the FBI (or some federal policing agency) better patrol the internet to decrease the schemers and thieves that do lurk in the digital world. While stiff penalties do not always deter crimes, I agree that the penalties for identity theft need to we swift and harsh.