What is Identity Theft?

You have most likely heard the term identity theft used more and more often lately.  If you are not sure just what it entails, you will find out here.  It is a form of fraud and it happens when someone uses another person’s identity. They do this in order to obtain credit or resources as well as other benefits that are in that person’s name. 

The victim here can be held responsible for the actions of the perpetrator and suffer adverse consequences.  This can happen to not just individuals but also organizations and it always results in losses.  This term of identity theft was introduced in 1964 and could be called a misnomer because it is actually impossible to steal some one’s identity. The term of identity fraud would better words used or even identity cloning would be a better description. 

Many victims have no idea how their personal information was obtained but they do discover eventually that someone is using their name or social security number for other reasons.  Child identity theft occurs when that minor’s social security number has been used for personal gain by the impostor.  This impostor can be a friend or even a family member.

This article was written by Jim Jackson, who works as an SEO at Oracle Seo Ltd.