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In the TV Show Mr Robot, Angela Moss and her boyfriend are blackmailed into infecting the network at Allsafe Cybersecurity, or else face the consequences of identity theft.

It seems to me that this demand is unreasonable. It would risk her job, a felony, is ethically irrepressible, and is no guarantee that the blackmailer would keep his promise.

As I understand, there are actions people can take to minimize the damage of identity theft.

She chooses to infect the network at her workplace.

Why was she so afraid of identity theft?

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    Have you ever been a victim of identity theft?
    – sanpaco
    Sep 15, 2016 at 2:15
  • @sanpaco No. From what I understand, if caught early it doesn't have to lead to bankruptcy, loss of job, jail time, or anything else that her decision seems to risk. That said, I'm essentially looking for her point of view on this.
    – Goose
    Sep 15, 2016 at 2:49

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Warning: answer is basically spoilers

She didn't do it to avoid being a victim of identity theft, she knew that as her identity and bank accounts were compromised, there was always going to be the blackmail risk or risk of betrayal from the thief. She did it as a way of ruining her boyfriend's life.

Her boyfriend was the one who's actions lead to her identity being stolen, and the images of her being taken, by putting a CD of unknown origin in his laptop. Anyone who is remotely involved in IT security should know not to do that. Even a sales person. On top of that her boyfriend was also cheating on her and exchanging messages which made her feel humiliated.

When she infected the Allsafe network, she did it from her boyfriend's machine, knowing it would likely be traced back to him and be seen as a direct attack from the inside.

Having been distanced by Elliot because of his actions and what he's going through, and humiliated by the Evil Corp exec and her boyfriend, she doesn't want to be at Allsafe. She feels she's lost everything anyway, and by doing this the company will be destroyed, they will all lose their jobs, and she gets to start a fresh whilst getting revenge.

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  • I love when a plot hole turns into character development. This is the perfect answer and I can appreciate the show a bit more, thanks.
    – Goose
    Sep 15, 2016 at 14:54
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    Good answer. She also has debt, knows her father has debt, and is trying to build up her career and finances. This puts all that at risk. On top of that, she feels an additional level of violation because some of the photos are of her getting out of the shower.
    – zim
    Sep 15, 2016 at 18:31

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