What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is when a criminal acquires and uses
someones personal information and then uses that
information to, in a sense, become that person for a
while.

The most common uses of identity theft are credit card
and check fraud. Some other uses that can occur are
illegal immigration, blackmail, crime or just
attacking an individual for revenge.

Identity theft can really destroy someones life for
months or even years. The most common result is
destruction of credit.

People often get credit cards and open bank accounts
in the victims name and buy all kinds of expensive
merchandise they can either keep or sell for cash.

In extreme cases, loans can be taken out for thousands
of dollars and the identity thief can simply
disappear. Luckily, a photo identification is
necessary for high priced transactions and loans most
of the time.

Credit isn't the only thing that can be destroyed by
identity theft. Many times, criminals will use your
personal information to get a drivers license because
they are wanted or plan to commit many crimes very
soon.

If these criminals rent a car that is used in a crime,
guess who is the first suspect? That's right, its YOU.
By the time you even realize this has happened, your
name and picture might be all over the news.

This can annihilate your good name in your community
or even the entire country. Even when it is proved you
had absolutely nothing to do with the crime, people
will still associate you with that particular event.