Passive Identity Theft
So, I (think I) coined a new phrase today. Passive Identity Theft. It's not illegal, as you're not actually stealing someone's identity. However, you are posing as them by not saying you are them. Confused? I'll explain.
Around December of last [My first year of college] year I got an email, it said that my school parking pass had come in. It interested me because it had my name on it, but was for a campus that I don't attend. I did some research and found out that, surprise surprise, there's another person with my name, and an almost identical username. He just attends a different campus. I emailed back the parking operations people, and informed them of their mistake, told them who to contact, and thought nothing of it.
Earlier this semester I was "hired" by a professor as a research assistant at roughly enough to pay my internet bill each month [Edit: It turned out that this was actually substantially more than I had anticipated...]. Now, even though I emailed the lady who should have my contract, she never got back to me. I heard no more about it, and assumed things had fallen through, and I wasn't really "hired".
Yesterday I got a forwarded email from her saying "Does he [me] work for you [professor I'm working with]"? I promptly replied saying I'd like to, but that I wasn't yet, as I hadn't been able to sign a contract. So, I talked with her today, and she explained the whole deal to me:
After she filed my paperwork she looked "me" up in the system (when she already had my email, I don't know why) and sent "me" an email telling me to get the contract. I never responded (obviously, as it was the other me's email, in case you haven't caught on). She repeatedly emailed "me" trying to get "me" to come in and pick up my (not in quotes as it is my money) contract/pay stubs (pay goes out even without a signed contract). Well, this guy ignored it. He must have known what it was about, as he got paid for three months, all the while ignoring her emails. Finally, just now, he came forward and said he wasn't me.
So, I signed my contract finally, and hopefully things'll work out for the rest of the semester. But lets take a look at this.
He never claimed to be me. So, its not identity theft. But he knew he was getting someone else's money (or thought he had a job he never attended at a campus he doesn't live near) and never reported it. He also didn't respond to the lady telling him where the money was coming from. Now, he did in the end, but he owes the school 3 months pay since he accepted it. I consider that identity theft. I'm calling it passive because he did nothing more then sit back, and watch the checks roll in. Thankfully, I'm not a petty man, because I have his user id,full name, and student number. If I anted to... gee... I could phish him for his identity and use it. But I'm a bigger man then that.
So, remember, you can hurt people by not doing anything just as much as by stealing their identity. If you're in the situation I described above, do the right thing and report it, as I did in the first case, don't ignore it.
