Individual residence and identity theft: how residential characteristics shape exposure and risk of offline and online identity theft victimization
| Date | 11 May 2023 |
| Pages | 594-607 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-03-2023-0045 |
| Published date | 11 May 2023 |
| Author | Alexander Joseph Vanhee,Rachel McNealey |
Individual residence and identity
theft: how residential
characteristics shape exposure
and risk of offline and online
identity theft victimization
Alexander Joseph Vanhee and Rachel McNealey
Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of micro-level place on identity theft
victimization. Thisstudy uses the 2016 Identity Theft Supplement (ITS)to investigate whether aspects of an
individual’sresidence affect their likelihood of becomingidentity theft victims.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors conduct logistic regressions of whether a respondent
was an identity theft victim in the past year using the following variables as key predictors: number of
housing units in a residence, whether the respondent operates a business out of their residence and if
residenceaccess is restricted.
Findings –The results suggest that location influences the likelihoodof identity theft to a modest degree
though some aspects of location (possibly those related to rewards perceptions)may be more relevant than
others. Meanwhile,though location may influence initial target selection,whether someone is victimized may
be more dependenton factors such as personal behavior.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, this manuscript represents one of the first
investigationsinto the relationship between microlevel place and the incidence of identity theft.Furthermore,
it providesevidence that one does exist which bears further inquiry.
Keywords Identity theft, Offender–search theory, Victimization, Residence, Opportunity, Location
Paper type Research paper
Identity theft is one of the most ubiquitous offenses of the 21st century withs its total financial
damages numbering in the billions (Copes and Vieraitis, 2009;Langton, 2011;Harrel, 2019). It is
also one of the fastest growing crimes; identity theft has drastical ly increased in scope, affecting
an estimated 6.4 million households in 2005 (Langton, 2011) and approximately 23 million
people 16 and older in 2018 (Harrel, 2021). The latest published reports from the Identity Theft
Supplement (ITS) of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) suggests that one in five
adults in the USA can expect to be a victim of identity theft in their lifetime (Harrel, 2021).
Despite its widespread impact, there is a less robust body of research on identity theft
compared to other crimes, with some important questions remaining unanswered.
One unexamined area is whether identity theft victimization demonstrates spatial
patterns similarly to other forms of victimization. Specifically, whether identity theft is
spatially or geographically clustered, or how situational factors of a location may increase
the likelihood of an identity theft victimization will occur there. The lack of research in this
sub-field may be due to the fact that many identity thefts are committed over the phone or
JFC
31,3
594
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.31 No. 3, 2024
pp. 594-607
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-03-2023-0045
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1359-0790.htm
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