Identity theft is the theft of an identity with the intent of malice. The word theft itself implies taking possession of an object (in this case any object that signifies a person's identity) that does not belong to the taker, ostensibly an object neither given nor exchanged.

This can happen in many different ways; the permutations are endless, which is why identity theft can be so difficult to prevent, and also so difficult to put a stop to when it does happen. This makes everyone an easy prey, and anyone else just as easy a thief. It has even happened to your's truly; yes, me, the author. It all started one night, when I going over my online checking account. All was well as I browsed through my transactions. It was the usual: coffee, fast food, gas; nothing to upset the eyes. Just as I was about to log off and close the browser, I saw it, the red flag. Tucked between two obscure and insignificant transactions, I had, apparently, purchased an expensive coffee maker. It was a whopping two hundred dollars. One of the luxury machines, practically a royal coffeemaker next to the trusty peasant that sat in my kitchen for the last five durable years. I knew I didn't buy a coffeemaker, particularly that coffeemaker. It withdrew two hundred bucks from my account. And it's not like I got to keep the machine, either. Someone else had it.

But this story has a happy ending to it. I got the coffeemaker; I also got my money back. It turned out that my sister, who had been using my online retailer account (I'm an avid internet shopper), decided to buy me a birthday present. But she was oblivious to the account she had signed on to, thinking it was her own. Well, to my surprise, she gave me my present, I told her about the negative two hundred dollars, and she paid me back in full. As I said, a happy ending. Well, admittedly, almost a happy ending: my old, trusty peasant of a coffeemaker had to be thrown out.

They say most internet identity thefts could be easily averted. In this case, I had forgotten to sign out of my account from my sister's computer. If this had been on a public computer, then a total stranger could have had access to my credit card number, my phone number, and my home address. Or course, most public computers mandatorily clear their internet caches and histories, but, well, better safe than sorry.

The number one way to prevent the theft of your own identity is to be weary. Take on a precautionary attitude toward everyday activities like signing forms, or trips to the bank. This advice may sound redundant, but allow me to also say that people often never know what to be cautionary about. This leans more towards paranoia than common sense, and can be just as bad as no caution. Don't always assume that strangers are out to get you, because to know the limits of what can be taken from you is the first step in preventing it.