When facing any type of criminal charge, you may immediately want to work on your defense. While this desire is certainly important in this type of situation, you may want to remember that having the right information could help you when creating that defense.
If Florida authorities accused you of online identity theft, you may want to dig deeper into what that means exactly. Certainly, you may already know that they think you have used someone else’s personally identifiable information for your own personal gain, but how do they think you gained that information?
Online actions
Identity theft can occur in many ways, and online identity theft has many subsets. For instance, authorities may believe that you gained someone else’s information through any of the following means:
- Malicious software: Police may believe that you tricked individuals into downloading malicious software that uncovered personal information.
- Pharming: You may stand accused of taking over a person’s browser by redirecting them to a fake website designed to collect personal information.
- Phishing: This crime involves sending fake emails that appear to be from legitimate institutions, but could trick someone into providing their information to a fake source.
- Direct actions: Identity theft does not always take place at a significant distance, and obtaining someone’s computer, tablet or cellphone could provide a considerable amount of personally identifiable information.
- Targeting children: Because children are not always aware of safe online practices, police may accuse you of taking advantage of children and tricking them into providing information.
These days, many people put a substantial amount of information online. They may pinpoint their exact locations on social media, provide their full names and birth dates, and even post the cities they live in and where they work. As a result, online identity theft can happen easily.
Defending against charges
Of course, you may feel less concerned about how prevalent this issue is and more concerned about how you can defend against allegations brought against you. Understanding the exact actions that authorities believe you took to obtain someone else’s identifying information could help you build your defense.
Other information can also play important parts in your case, and it may be wise for you to discuss your situation with a knowledgeable defense attorney. This legal professional can help you understand the charges and strategize the ways in which you can mitigate the negative impacts of the allegations.
