Rhetorical Analysis of Identity Theft Blogs

I was searching for some blogs similar to my topic on Identity theft and found some interesting things. The two articles I found the most interesting were Students, Grades and Social Security Numbers and Identity theft. I’m going to compare and a do a rhetorical analysis on both the articles.

The first blog was very factual and used more formal writing. It went into the history of social security numbers and explained what they meant to people in the past. This and the mentioning of statistics from The Department of Education provide ethos to the blog post. The post then discusses the harms that Identity theft brings for example “harm it does to your financial future.” It also uses a lot of adjectives though out the post; which brings out the use of pathos in the post. The word “deadbeat” was mentioned a few times, and I found this term in a few other similar posts throughout this blog.

The second blog was much more emotional and less formal. The writer was describing their personal experience with Identity theft. It too used a great number of vivid adjectives and word choice, like: numb, distraught, violated, afraid, wounded, threatened, and more. This was a big use of pathos and makes the readers feel sympathy for the writer. Since it was a Christian blogging site, the writer threw in some religious analogies as well.

Both blogs went into details about how Identity Theft is more emotional and frustrating than the financial problem itself. They both conveyed the message that Identity Theft is not something anyone wants to go through.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is illegal and is considered any misuse of another person's identifying information, whether personal or financial. Most of people’s personal information is often stolen through lost or stolen mail, wallets and purses, identification, and credit or debit cards. Identity thieves are usually looking for financial information to take hold of someone’s account without them knowing it; since it is not possible to steal an identity, only to use it. Identity theft can be devastating to the victim, and can sometimes take years to overcome the damage done by the thief. Identity theft can ruin a person’s good name and credit record.

 Sometimes people’s personal information is taken by mere chance, but the thieves know what they are looking for. I have had a close family member go through identity theft, and it was a scary and difficult time for them. The police assumed that someone made up a social security number, which happened to be my relatives, while filling out some form of a credit application. Now any time my relative has to use her social security number or is applying for anything having to do with her credit, she is asked additional information about her identity. It’s not as devastating as other examples of identity theft, but it is still an annoyance that she will have to deal with from now on.

Being aware is the most effective tool against many forms identity theft. Knowing how information is stolen and how to protect your information is a good start. Setting up security systems or firewalls for online accounts is another way to protect yourself. The most practical way to protect your identity is to track or monitor you information, and know what to do if it is stolen or missing.