The Four Major Types Of Identity Theft

Following are four descriptions designating each type of identity theft that occurs in the world today.

Type of Identity Theft - Financial

Under this type of identity theft, the perpetrator will use your credit card to make purchases or pay for services. The thief may also use your Social Security Number to apply for a credit card, get employment, or get loans under your name.

A thief can also gain access to your money by using stolen checks. Can you imagine the amount of damage the perpetrator can do before you even realize what's going on? He can go shopping, rent a car or an apartment, pay for phone service, etc.

Type of Identity Theft - Business

This type of identity theft is similar to the Financial type, but this time it is a business that is victimized financially rather than a person. The theft may be perpetrated by a disgruntled former employee who still has access to the business' accounts. It may also be that the thief is simply a person who sees the opportunity to commit fraud and takes it.

The perpetrator may or may not have a relationship with the company's existing suppliers, but will use whatever means he can (e.g., company credit line, credit cards, online credit, etc.) for monetary or material gain.

Type of Identity Theft - Criminal

The perpetrator of this type of identity theft will present your Driver's License or Social Security ID, instead of his own, when he is arrested. If he is charged and convicted, a criminal record starts to be generated under your name.

If he ever goes free, this will make it easier for the thief to disappear and continue his criminal activities. In the meantime, being impersonated by an identity thief leaves you with a criminal record or a shattered reputation that may takes you years to clear up.

Type of Identity Theft - Cloning

In this type of identity theft, the perpetrator uses your personal data to establish a new identity. Perhaps he has a criminal record under his real (former) name. Or maybe he is trying to escape from people or law enforcement authorities. He can be an illegal immigrant or just someone wanting to leave behind debts or a bad credit or employment record.

Whatever the case, the identity thief will use your information and you're lucky if he indeed starts anew and maintains a clean record. But the minute old habits return, it will be your reputation that gets tarnished this time.

When Frank Abagnale trains law enforcement officers for the FBI's National Academy about identity theft, he asks agents for their addresses and nothing more. The next day, he returns with everything he would need to steal their lives: Social Security numbers, dates of birth, current salary, checking account numbers, the names of everyone in their family, and more. This illustrates how easy it is for anyone from anywhere in the world to assume our identity and, in a matter of hours, devastate our lives in ways that can take years to recover from. Considering the fact that a fresh victim is hit in the U.S. every four seconds, Stealing Your Life is the reference everyone needs, by an unsurpassed authority on the latest identity-theft schemes.

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