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.   

Consumer Privacy

 I was curious about how important internet privacy was to people, so I did a little research. I went to Google Scholar and found an article clip from the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

It first introduced how the internet is used for everything these days, emphasizing the online market. It talked about marketers following consumer characteristics and shopping trends, and how consumers’ information is in a database available for marketers.

Policy makers are concerned with protecting consumers’ rights especially concerning privacy and security of personal and financial information. It then discusses online disclosure of retail practices; how disclosures may effect consumer behavior and prevent consumer concerns about internet privacy and safety. They use consumer surveys to determine the relations between retailer practices and consumer ideas of risks and intentions about products.

The article presents all this information in a factual manner, providing facts from surveys about consumers’ ideas. For this reason the article relies on the use of logos to produce its argument.

 The overall consensus of the article was that policymakers need to take this internet privacy seriously and keep up with privacy laws; especially in regards to the online e-commerce. It gave suggestions like disclosures and how they affect consumer relations. Internet privacy is still an issue today and will always be as long there is an in increase in online shopping and more.

Internet Identity

How does someone define their identity on the internet? Is it by what people know about them, or what comes up when they search for themselves on Goggle?

These days someone’s identity on the internet can be defined by a number of things. There is so much more personal information put on the internet than ever before. Have you ever goggled yourself and wondered where some of the information came from? One of the first things that pop up from your search is probable something from Facebook or Twitter . The most common places to build you’re so called internet identity these days.

Your identity on the internet is more of a collection of all information about you that has been put on the internet. It ranges from things like Facebook, to papers you might have written for school, to online games you are a part of, to activities you have participated in, or even to organizations you are a part of.  Your internet identity will be defined by the amount personal information you put on the internet. As more of our personal information is put on the internet the more accessible it is to others. This is why people need to be more aware of what they are putting on the internet. Once information is on the internet it is there for good, as the Social Network movie put it correctly “The internet isn’t written in pencil Mark, it’s written in ink.” Whenever you do Google your name, the search engine will pull your name from where ever it finds it. 

Being Aware of Internet Predators

Most people don't realize the kinds of dangers that are on the internet. The internet is one of the most widely used technologies today. Weather its used for business or social networking; it has become one of the fastest growing tools in the world. With all these people using the internet, not to many people realize the dangers of using it improperly. Internet safety and privacy have become a growing issue. As the internet grows, people should stay knowledgeably on how to use it safely. There are dangers of using the internet unprotected, such as cyber stocking, identity theft, viruses, and more. People need to become more aware of these and other dangers when using the internet. It is wise to take the time to protect your computer and yourself, and be informed on how to protect yourself.

I chose this topic because I've personally been hacked on Facebook before, and I think people need to be more informed on some of the dangers the internet holds. A lot of internet safety is using common sense and being aware of what's out there.