Using a laptop as a weapon, skilled information manipulators are now capable of not only stealing your identity for the purpose of misusing your credit, obtaining a second mtg. on your home, or filing a false IRS claim, they can also have you declared dead, raid your bank accounts and redirect life insurance payouts. For the victims, these are more than an inconvenience. They require the victim to prove they did not initiate the declaration or claims and to prove they are still alive.
These are serious crimes. Crimes that demand serious investigation, victim compensation, and strong penalties for not only the perpetrators, but also for the institutions that allow themselves to be manipulated and then refuse to offer serious help. These crimes deserve the same media attention as violent crimes and the same investigative diligence. Identity crimes are no longer simple theft, they are being used as intimidation tactics by opponents in court, by zealots, against individuals with different beliefs, and as a new intimidation technique to illicit protection money from individuals and businesses.
Once targeted, even with arrests made later, a victim can be targeted again and again and changing one's SS # is allowed only in witness protection cases and changing one's name is not simple and usually not effective. If you are pissed off at someone it is no longer necessary to kill them, just get them declared dead. It's more effective and involves much less risk. Identity assassins are on the rise and an unsuspecting alliance has created a mafia type "pay for protection" between hackers and providers of protection software. I sincerely hope this 'hack to intimidate" and "pay to avoid" relationship is unintentional."
