ID THEFT AND FRAUD

ID Theft and Fraud

Jennifer Stevens

Table of Contents

Chapter 3: Study Design3

A.Refined Hypothesis3

Social disorganization3

Routine activities theory4

B.Data to be collected: Conceptualization (Definition)/ Operationalization5

(Measurement)5

C. Participants and Data Collection Methods5

Identity theft complaints5

Sampling Procedure6

Validity and Reliability7

Ethical Issues7

Chapter 3: Study Design

Refined Hypothesis

Two major theoretical perspectives will allow us to analyze the link between potential structural factors and identity theft complaints. The two structural theories are social disorganization and routine activities theories. Each of these approaches will explore the link between structural factors and identity theft complaints in distinct ways, but they maintain the common threads of spatial location, structural conditions, and crime. Next we will briefly outline each perspective and then provide the links to identity theft complaints.

Social disorganization

Coming from the Chicago school tradition of sociology, the social disorganization perspective suggests that structural disadvantage can inhibit the development of formal and informal ties among conventional institutions (e.g. schools, churches and voluntary community organizations). These ties are necessary to promote and maintain social control. The theory had fallen out of favor with criminologists throughout the 1970s but was resurrected in the 1980s with some extensions including family disruption and collective efficacy, and different analytical techniques including structural equation modeling (Sampson and Groves, 1989; Warner, 2003) and hierarchical linear models (Robinson et al., 2003). Pratt and Cullen's (2005) meta-analysis indicates that structural conditions (i.e. percent black, residential mobility, and economic consequences) are important indicators of social disorganization that persists in urban and large state locations.

Following Newman and McNally's (2005) conclusion that minorities, males, income level, and youth have a link with identity theft, social disorganization at the state level that is indicated by income, public assistance, percent black, and residential mobility should have a link with identity theft complaints. This is the case because the social disorganization characteristics have a link with characteristics of individuals who fall prey to identity theft and who file complaints. This leads to our first hypothesis:

H1. Socially disorganized states (via income, public assistance, percent black, and residential mobility) are more likely to have more identity theft complaints.

Routine activities theory

RAT suggests that more outdoor activity by individuals would create more criminal opportunities. Areas that have more opportunities for crime are those with large numbers of eating and drinking establishments, amusement, and recreational services (Miethe et al., 1991). The increase in the number of these establishments creates greater opportunity for overall crime and leads to a positive increase in identity theft complaints. Hipp et al. (2004), using data from the economic census and the uniform crime rates from the county level between 1990 and 1992, found that property crime rates were explained by RAT measures. Pratt and Cullen's (2005) meta-analysis showed that RAT at the macro level did have some qualified support.

Newman and McNally (2005) argued that opportunity has a link with identity theft. That is, individuals that consistently give their personal information to strangers in social situations are more likely to have their identities stolen and to file complaints.

This leads to our second hypothesis:

H2. The more routine activities (via eating and drinking ...