Written by Alex Bach
Sometimes it takes a piece of art to open our eyes to the threats of the world in order for us to understand both the gravity of the issue and the horror of it. Identity theft is no exception, thankfully there are a couple movies that will scare you straight if you weren’t already.
And if you feel you might in fact be the victim of identity theft, see how Credit Report Problems can help.
3 Movies of Horrifying Identity Theft:
Identity Theft:
While billed as a comedy–and while there are a fair amount of laughs, though more to be desired–“Identity Theft’s” comic, absurdity becomes horrifying when you realize it really isn’t that far fetched. Well, some of the plot develops, budding friendships, and such are a little out there in terms of reality, the fact that a reckless person with access to your identity can leave you vulnerable, potentially jobless, incarcerated and left to deal with one massive headache are real things people have to deal with when their identities are stolen.
Disconnect:
Another Jason Bateman movie tackling identity theft. “Disconnect” involves three separate stories about people’s attempts to connect with one another in our digital age. One of those stories involves a young, grieving couple who’s wife accidentally gives access to their identity while trying to share her feelings over the death of her child.
The family’s bank accounts are drained, their mortgage in jeopardy and there’s little the police can do to find the perpetrators. Desperation seeps in and the film climbs to a nail-biting end as the couple seeks vengeance on the man they believe robbed them. The film shows the very real and very stark realities of identity predation out there.
The Net:
While Disconnect represented the most realistic portrayal of identity theft, this film represents some of the most horrifying. A systems analyst who lives her life as a bit of a recluse, telecommuting and seldom engaging face-to-face with others, finds herself the victim of a conspiracy, one in which someone else assumes her identity. The problem is, that since Angela (Sandra Bullock) never really interacted with her coworkers, neighbors, or pretty much anyone, there is no one to say she really is the real Angela.
Her credit cards have been rendered invalid and her social security number was hijacked and allocated to a criminal. The film is a horrifying possibility of what can happen when you combine data and identity theft with the increasing isolation of our digital world.