Identity Theft Comes In Many Forms

The digital revolution has helped give rise to some amazing advances. Alas, it has also created a new plethora of opportunities for criminals and identity theft represents one area where crime seems to be paying for the most part.

The phrase identity theft generally means what it sounds like. It is the theft of a person's identity by another for some profitable purpose. That being said, identity theft actually comes in a number of different forms.

Mention identity theft and most people think of stolen credit cards. This occurs, but is actually the end result of the theft. Credit card accounts are not the target of most criminals, social security numbers are.

The social security number is the golden egg of identity theft. Why? It can be used to do just about anything financially such as open multiple credit accounts, take loans and so on. Without it, it is practically impossible to do anything.

Criminals make great capitalists. They can find multiple ways to use ill gotten gains to make a profit. A new approach is to sell your social security number to illegal immigrants. The immigrants often need to show them to hold a job.

If your social security number is sold to an illegal immigrant, you could be in for a really nasty surprise. Why? Well, the money that person earns will be report to the IRS and it will expect taxes to be paid. When they aren't, guess who gets called?

Then there is the classic bank account scheme. The first identity theives simply took social security numbers, opened bank accounts with them and wrote bad checks. It still happens today and banks will come looking for you eventually.

Finally, identity thieves need to chat by phone frequently, but why should they pay for this when you will? Yes, they use your information to buy cell phones and open new accounts with the mobile providers.

As with any crime, identity theft is not something you want to experience. Unlike other crimes, you rarely realize you are a victim until things are really bad. Theives have bills sent to addresses other than yours, so you don't know it is occuring.

So, how do most people discover they have been hit? They start getting calls from credit bureaus or collection companies. Alternatively, they find all their credit cards shut off and their bank account frozen.

Identity theft is one of the more aggravating crimes out there. If it happens to you, expect to spend months trying to get the mess worked out. Businesses and the government are getting better at dealing with it, but it is still a nightmare.