Digital identity theft: towards a necessary criminal protection

Keywords: Digital identity, online impersonation, privacy, usurpation of civil status, legislative reform

Abstract

Digital identity is a part of our privacy that is continuously at risk due to the communicative advances that occur in the environment of new technologies, since it can be easily used by cybercriminals to carry out criminal behavior (and, thus, procure anonymity) or for all kinds of purposes, be they financial, sexual, revenge or simply for fun. The Spanish Penal Code does not penalize the mere fact of supplanting someone’s identity, but behaviors that are carried out after the fact. It is, therefore, a priority that a new criminal offense be conceived to penalize this serious attack on what is most personal and intimate that we have: who we are in front of others.

Received: 25.07.2023
Accepted: 03.03.2024

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Author Biography

Gemma Martínez Galindo, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), España

Prof. Contratada Doctora Derecho Penal

Published
2024-06-19
How to Cite
Martínez Galindo, Gemma. 2024. “Digital Identity Theft: Towards a Necessary Criminal Protection”. Estudios De Deusto 72 (1), 199-228. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed.3105.
Section
Studies