Sometimes Identity Theft Takes on the Face of Revenge
Identity Theft: When Revenge Becomes a Crime
When we think about identity theft, it's usually financial crimes that come to mind. We usually think of some low-life criminal who steals someone's information for monetary gain. In reality, identity theft doesn't always have to do with money. Sometimes it's just cold revenge, as a recent California case clearly reflects.
Some People Just Don't Grow Up
You break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend and think that's the end of it. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. A woman in Alameda, California recently discovered that she and her daughter had been the victims of identity theft, and it had nothing to do with money.
Setting The Scene
A 44-year-old woman broke up with her (obviously unstable) boyfriend. The boyfriend decided to get back at her by stealing her information and photos of her and her 19-year-old daughter and posting them on Craig's List. The Craig's List ad was basically an offer of prostitution. When the woman found out about it, she immediately called the police. However, the damage was done.
Where'd the criminal get the pictures? Were they back from the days when he dated the woman? No. He grabbed them from FaceBook. Basically, anyone with an Internet connection could have done the same thing, this guy just had a motive (or what he thought was a motive in his mind anyway).
The Moral of the Story
So, just like the stories our parents used to tell us, there's a lesson to be learned here.
Do not, no matter how safe you think the Internet to be, put too much personal info online. You never know who's looking and you never know what they're going to do with the information they get. Identity theft could be just one of the many problems you'd encounter if your info got in the wrong hands.