Digital Forensic Certification Practice Exam

What term describes the fraudulent use of someone's identification for illegal transactions?

1. Whaling

2. Identity theft

3. Mail bombing

4. Cyberstalking

The correct answer is: Identity theft

The term that describes the fraudulent use of someone's identification for illegal transactions is identity theft. This crime occurs when a person illegally acquires and uses someone else's personal information, such as their name, social security number, credit card details, or other financial information, typically to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft can lead to significant financial loss for victims, damage to their credit scores, and a long, complicated process to reclaim their identity. In contrast, whaling typically refers to targeting high-profile individuals within a company for phishing attacks, rather than stealing identities outright. Mail bombing is an attack aimed at overwhelming a mail server by flooding it with excessive messages. Cyberstalking involves using the internet to harass or threaten someone, which does not inherently involve using another person's identification for fraudulent purposes. Thus, identity theft is the clear and precise term for the fraudulent use of someone's identification for illegal transactions.