identity Theft-What is ID Theft?

When most people think of identity theft, they think about a thief using a victim’s credit card. Although a serious crime, this form of identity theft does not require the long, time consuming process of the two most serious forms of ID theft known as Identity Assumption and Synthetic Identity Theft.

The crime of Identity Assumption occurs when the thief uses your social security number and your name to commit fraud. The crime of Synthetic Identity Theft occurs when the thief uses your social security number and an alias to commit fraud. In both cases, the thief either steals or buys a social security number and establishes a new address and phone number. The thief then directs all communication of the fraudulent activity to the address and phone number that the thief controls. The victim remains unaware of the activity for months or even years. The longer the thief can prevent you from learning of the fraudulent activity, the more the thief benefits and the more you are harmed.

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to the Federal Trade Commission, over 9 million Americans have their identity stolen each year.

What ID Theft is not….. Identity theft is not just about monitoring your current credit reports for credit card fraud or credit history infringement. It is not just about identity thieves using your current credit cards. Rather, it involves creating new fraudulent accounts from your stolen identity information.

MORE HACKS: internet hacking, Network hacking