Identity Theft 101

How Identities Are Misused

What happens when your identity gets stolen? How bad can it really get?

Identity theft can take many forms, from stealing your complete profile—all of your personal information—to gathering bits of your identity and combining that information with other data to create a synthetic profile. To help you be better informed, we've put together a knowledge base about the effects of identity theft.

  • Credit Card Fraud

    Identity Theft: Opening store or bank credit is just one way that thieves can use your identity to illegally reap financial reward. Cloned debit cards obtained using skimmers are becoming more common thanks to high-tech techniques.

  • Loan Fraud/Payday Loan Fraud

    Loan Fraud/Payday Loan Fraud: With payday loans, you may not know that someone has used your identity to illegally obtain cash. Thieves can open these types of loans in multiple states, racking up a huge debt using your personal information.

  • Government Documents Fraud

    Government Documents Fraud: From Social Security cards to birth certificates and drivers licenses, illegally obtaining and selling government documents is big business for thieves.

  • Benefits Fraud

    Benefits Fraud: In today's healthcare climate, pirated insurance benefits—using your personal information—can earn a high sale price for industrious thieves.

  • Tax Fraud

    Tax Fraud: Enterprising thieves will try anything for profit, even forging tax returns in your name to get your refund.

  • Employment-Related Fraud

    Employment-Related Fraud: New laws are making it difficult for illegal immigrants to gain employment—thus entrepreneurial thieves are after your good name to sell it for a high price.

  • Bank Fraud

    Bank Fraud: Nowadays thieves can do more than hold you up at gun point to take your money. They can pilfer your bank account information and clean out your savings—before you know it.

  • Phone Fraud

    Phone Fraud/Utilities Fraud: Service agreements for cellular service or utilities are common means for thieves to profit at your expense–using your personal information.

  • Other Identity Fraud

    Other Identity Fraud: Medical, criminal, and insurance records are not things you typically think to monitor. But opportunistic thieves can exploit your good name for all it's worth.