Our world is fast developing and suggesting new technologies to
ease living. In parallel to this, criminals are at the same pace of adapting to
the world. In the world of computers today, computer crimes are very rampant
and could be considered as inevitable. Victims of these have a very small
chance of finding justice. No matter how you feel very secure, no one could
predict how and when they will attack you.
Identity theft is
one of the known computer crimes. Identity theft is a crime of stealing someone’s
identity. It could be someone’s name, address, contact number, email address,
etc. There is a sample case I would like to share:
A woman applied for a passport at
the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in RoxasBoulevard, Manila. However, her
application was, immediately denied because another person already owned the
identity as per records of the DFA.
The unfortunate lady had to go to
the National Bureau of Investigation to seek help. She will have to undergo the
nitty-gritty of proving her personality and that she was victimized by identity
theft.
This case is very rampant and if
found guilty, is punishable by the law. According to Republic Act No. 10175, AN ACT
DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING FOR THE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION
AND THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES SEC. 8. Penalties. — Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts
enumerated in Sections 4(a) and 4(b) of this Act shall be punished with
imprisonment of prision mayor or a fine of at least Two hundred
thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00) up to a maximum amount commensurate to the
damage incurred or both. (http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/)
In
the case of the woman being a victim of this crime by stealing her identity and
someone use it to acquire a passport at the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA), all she could do is to prove herself a victim of such computer crime. It is like a parasite that silently extracting something valuable from you leaving you unconscious until it's too late.
To
prevent this crime, everyone should be responsible of securing his/her
identity. Never expose your full identity in a social networking site. Secure
your important ID’s, ATM’s, Credit Cards, etc. If you lost your important cards
or ID’s, report it immediately to who’s responsible for immediate appropriate
action to be made.
No matter how much blame we put on the criminals, in the end, it's still our responsibility in securing our identity.
No matter how much blame we put on the criminals, in the end, it's still our responsibility in securing our identity.
