Identity theft is a classic crime with a modern (and perhaps decidedly American) twist. The rise of technology over the past few decades—and its influence on the processes of modernization and globalization—has created many new opportunities for identity theft both locally and internationally. Moreover, this process has transformed the nature of identity from something largely personal to something almost purely financial. Although identity theft is not a global crime per se, it does pose a pervasive and universal threat that will need to be acknowledged and addressed by many nations throughout the world.

In this text, author Megan McNally examines the concept of identity theft in universal terms in order to understand what it is, how it is accomplished, and what the nations of the world can do—individually or collectively—to prevent it or respond to it.