The Identity Thieves website last updated 2/19/01, told the story of Scott Clinton Gilbert, or at least someone who was believe to be "Robert Hartle-. As "Robert-, Scott was able to produce debts of more than $110,000, including bills for three pick up trucks, two motorcycles and a doublewide mobile home. If anyone was to question Scott on his identity of Robert Hartle he was more than prepared with a drivers license, Social Security card, and even a birth certificate. For quite some time Scott left the real "Robert Hartle- in a bit of a financial mess. Fortunately Scott's "fraud spree- ended, leaving the true Robert free of all debts and credit charges.
"But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed-- Shakespeare, Othello act iii, Sc. 3. Shakespeare was correct indeed, long before the time of the cashless society. Now it seems that almost everyone (especially here in the United States of America) has a credit card, Mac card, debit card, gift cards, I.D. cards, and a checking account with book and card. With all these plastic conviences, identity theft has become a common practice among thieves. "Stealing someone's identity-, as the Identity Thieves website states, "to buy everything from cars to toys and leaving the real person's credit rating in ruin may be the perfect crime because there is little that can be done to prosecute it-. This new identity crisis brings about a few serious questions; who owns who in this society, are we all really only what's on a piece of plastic or paper, and what steps can we take to assure this will not happen to us? .
First lets explore the thought or theory of " who owns who in this society-. Years ago we know that slavery was outlawed in the U.S.A., yet from time to time we see examples of it still going strong. In a vulgar sense we see the "pimp and hooker- as a form of slavery and ownership of a person.
