Learn About Identity Theft

Identity theft is basically the unlawful use of another person’s identity in order to get credit, or to obtain other benefits from that person and the victim’s loss or advantage to another person. The definition is pretty simple; any unauthorized use of another person’s information, particularly information about the type of credit card used, the date of birth, and the Social Security number.

This includes using someone else’s credit card information, accessing information from other people’s credit cards, opening up bank accounts, taking out loans, and so on. If an identity thief obtains personal and financial information this way, it could be considered identity theft, regardless of whether or not it is intended. An example of an unauthorized use could be someone gaining access to another person’s bank account and using this account’s credit card information to make a purchase of a major appliance, which could cost the bank a great deal of money.

Identity thieves may also use a stolen identity for other purposes; for example, they may use it to open up a bank account or apply for credit, or they may use it to obtain employment. It could also be used to open up businesses in another person’s name and use their credit card information to pay for inventory.

There are many ways that identity theft can occur, but usually there is a pattern to the person that uses the stolen identity, either by having a pattern of purchases made with that identity or by providing some sort of identifying information such as their Social Security number or driver’s license number. There are also some cases where the person who uses the stolen identity is unaware that it has been stolen, which could lead to a case of mistaken identity.

Some examples of situations in which a person can become a victim of identity theft include but are not limited to: opening up a credit card in another person’s name to make purchases and apply for credit; opening up an account or checking account with another person without the knowledge of that person; or opening up bank accounts in someone else’s name to obtain credit; or opening up bank accounts in someone else’s name in a business with the hope of obtaining credit; or opening up business accounts in someone’s name with the hopes of getting credit for that person. Also, there may be instances in which the identity thief obtains personal information such as social security information from a person without that person ever knowing, such as when that person applies for employment or a driver’s license.

Identity theft has become a problem on so many levels that even the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken notice of it. In fact, the FTC has actually created the Identity Theft Report template that is used by all U.S. states to help them detect cases of identity theft in their own states. The federal government has even done quite a bit in terms of educating consumers to prevent identity theft as well. However, there are still some areas of concern that have yet to be addressed in this area, such as how to combat identity theft if the crime occurs in another state.