Identity Theft
From Computing and Software Wiki
Identity Theft - (also known as Identity Fraud) refers to crimes in which personal information is obtained without person’s and used by a criminal or an impostor to commit a fraud or a crime usually for the purpose of economic gain. Some information commonly used by the thieves is: social insurance number (SIN), driver's license, credit card or bank information, birth certificate, passport etc.
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Types
Identity theft is usually divided into two main types based on the uses of stolen information:
- True Name Identity Theft : Refers to the situation in which stolen personal information is used to open new accounts or obtain services (criminal/thief adopts your identity).
- Account Takeover Identity Theft : Refers to the situation in which stolen information is used to gain access to existing accounts (criminal/thief uses your personal information).
Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a California based nonprofit organization working on prevention and understanding of identity theft, actually sub-divides identity theft into four different categories based on information provided by the victims. According to their annual victimization survey report, Identity Theft: The Aftermath 2006, ITRC uses the following four categories:
- Financial:
- Criminal:
- Governmental:
- Cloning:
