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Identity theft (or identity fraud) is the deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to gain access to their finances or frame them for a crime. Less commonly, it is to enable illegal immigration, terrorism, espionage, or changing identity permanently. It may also be a means of blackmail, especially if medical privacy or political privacy has been breached, and if revealing the activities undertaken by the thief under the name of the victim would have serious consequences like loss of job or marriage. Assuming a false identity with the knowledge and approval of the person being impersonated, such as for cheating on an exam, is not considered to be identity theft.
Techniques for obtaining identification information range from the crude, such as stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish (dumpster diving in the USA), stealing personal information in computer databases, to infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information.
Identity theft is usually the result of serious breaches of privacy. Except for the simplest credit-related cases, it is usually not possible without breakdowns in
- customer privacy, in which case the consequences may be limited to fraud on one corporation, typically the one that leaked the data in the first place, e.g. account numbers.
- consumer privacy, more serious, where credit card numbers or other generally-useful identity data is stolen and used much more widely.
- client confidentiality and political privacy, making it easy to effectively impersonate someone, by using confidential information that an ordinary impersonator would not have access to.
Related Readings
Credit Establishment 101
There will come a day when you need credit. You may want to buy a home or a car and your credit rating will become very important to help make these dreams come true. One of the first things you will need to learn is the basic principle of money management, especially the ability to repay your creditors on time within the 30-day grace period they establish for you.
Credit Repair Fraud
Many companies offer fraudulent schemes for personal credit repair, offering to wipe out legitimate records and give a person a "clean slate". In many cases, these are either fraudulent scams or schemes which may cause a person attempting to use them to violate more serious laws. It is very important to note that this is not only the case
Credit History / Credit Report
Credit history or credit report is a record of an individual's or company's past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy.
How to improve your credit rating
Maintain a good payment record - Pay your bills on time, this is very important. A lot of late payments can lower a credit history record.
Identity Theft
Identity theft (or identity fraud) is the deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to gain access to their finances or frame them for a crime.
Preventing Identity Theft
Preventing identity theft is never foolproof but use these tips and you'll have a much better chance at preventing identity theft before it happens.
Watch Out For Credit Repairs
It is very easy to find a site that is neat, professional-looking, and one that offers a free three-agency credit report and free credit report without a credit card.
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