What Is Identity Theft

It is the condition when the person uses you identity to commit a fraud. The person may use your identity to take loans from the bank using your details, or, may use your credit card details to use your credit without paying the bills.

It can be of different types which are financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, synthetic identity theft, identity cloning and concealment.

Financial identity theft can be in the form of credit card fraud, banking or loans fraud, taking some kind of utilities in your name and not paying the bills.

The credit card fraud is the most common of all the types of financial identity thefts. In this the person committing the fraud using your identity details and the credit card to commit the crime. The thief uses your name and first makes a new mailing address. It then conveys this new mailing address to the credit card company and gets the address changed. But the credit card account details remain the same. The credit card is then used by the thief. As the bills are sent to the new address so the victim does not realize the fraud that is committed on their name until they check their credit card details.

In the second form of credit card fraud the thief may open a new credit card account giving the details of the victim to the credit card company and continues to use the account in the name of the victim.

Another type of financial identity theft is when the thief opens a depository account in the name of victim and uses this account for electronic fund transfers and makes payment through checks to their creditors.

A loan fraud is also committed by the thief by using the name and details of the victim to get loans from the banks. The thief may also file tax return on the name of the victim called as tax refund fraud.

The thief uses the personal security number, the name, date of birth, bank account number and employer contact of the victim to commit such frauds.

Things that can be done to avoid and protect yourself from such frauds:

1. Check your account details regularly.
2. Avoid lending of your social security number to the companies seeking details on such things, or, any other person unless this is extremely necessary.
3. Destroy the slips containing your personal details and the details of your account, after any signing of check or deposition of the money in your account.
4. Contact your credit card company to prevent them to lend your details to the companies, this maintains your privacy and prevent you from getting those credit card offers.