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The first book to examine identity theft from the offender’s perspective

Although identity theft is one of the fastest growing economic crimes in the United States, researchers have devoted little attention to understanding identity thieves. Basing their work on interviews with 59 inmates serving time in federal prison for a variety of identity theft crimes, Copes and Vieraitis use criminological and sociological theories to gain insight into the cognitive, behavioral, and organizational aspects of identity theft. They also offer policy recommendations to reduce the ever-increasing threat of this crime.

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Endorsements:

“This entertaining and readable book combines insightful ethnography and sophisticated criminological theorizing in an investigation of the people who engage in the much publicized but little studied crime of identity theft. Copes and Vieraitis do an excellent job of describing who the offenders are, why and how they commit their offenses and what might be done to prevent identity theft in the future.”—Michael L. Benson, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati

“The so-called Great American Crime Drop that began in the mid-1990s might more accurately be described as the Great American Crime Shift. Even as street crime plummeted, other forms of criminality increased, including identity theft. In this incisive book, Heith Copes and Lynne Vieraitis explore the motives and methods of identity thieves, shedding new light on a changing criminological landscape—an important glimpse into the future of crime in the United States and beyond.”—Richard Wright, Curators’ Professor of Criminology, University of Missouri–St. Louis

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HEITH COPES is an associate professor in the department of justice sciences, University of Alabama, Birmingham. LYNNE M. VIERAITIS is an associate professor in the criminology program at the University of Texas, Dallas.