Identity Theft Articles

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing consumer crime in the United States, with an estimated 7 million US citizens becoming victims in the last year. Quite expectedly, this is a great concern for the everyday consumer, who is now the primary target for this crime. Identity Theft is a crime that involves identity thieves attempting to steal the personal and private details of others, which are then used for personal gain.

A recent survey from US working-group on credit industry security revealed that an alarming 87% of Americans are unaware of the implications that identity theft can have on your life. You could end up owing hundreds of thousands of dollars from debts accrued from fraudulent applications you weren’t even aware of! It could take you years to repair the damage to your credit report and you could even be refused credit cards, loans, mortgages and even bank accounts due to the after effects of fraudulent identity crimes. Identity theft is a growing crime in the United States and can be categorized into four main types.

1. Financial Identity Theft - Financial Identity Theft involves the thief stealing other people’s details to generate a financial profit for themselves. This includes making fraudulent loan applications in another’s name, attempting to open new credit card accounts or even simply withdrawing funds from an account using stolen details.

2. Criminal Identity Theft - This is also quite a common type of identity theft which is often missed by the authorities when the thief is involved in minor crimes. This technique involves giving someone else’s identity when questioned, arrested or prosecuted for a crime by the police.

3. Identity Cloning - Identity cloning is when a thief steals an individuals complete identity. This method involves obtaining vital documents such as passports, driving licenses, social securities etc. This will eventually allow criminals to obtain passports, which can be sold.

4. Commercial Identity Theft - Commercial Identity Theft is a lesser-known type of this crime but is more often a crime of greater seriousness involving larger scale fraud. The thief will attempt to obtain finance using a false or stolen business identity. By nature, businesses are often allowed larger credit facilities.

The most common types of stolen details are of course, credit card and bank account numbers. These are the types we’re most aware of and quite simply, these allow the thief to access our financial accounts, which are then either emptied completely or charged with fraudulent purchases. There is nothing more horrifying than checking your bank balance to find it completely empty! However don’t panic just yet. As the financial industry become more aware of identity theft fraud attempts, they are constantly improving and upgrading security access for consumer accounts. Unfortunately as the industry is developing new ways to keep criminals out, fraudsters are finding ever more intuitive ways to get their hands on your sensitive data.