Identity theft, also called ID theft, is defined as a crime in which the perpetrator obtains crucial bits of somebody's personal information, for example, their social security, passport, or driver's license numbers, and uses these to claim to be someone else.

The thief then obtains credit, merchandise, services, or other items using the victim's name. Identity theft may also involve posing as someone else to obtain false credentials with the purpose of meeting immigration or citizenship requirements or any other formal applications, even getting a job! The gravest danger that such theft causes to the victim is that unless the case is identified and proven to be identity theft, all the actions committed by the perpetrator are wrongfully attributed to the victim.

The Two Major Types of Identity Theft

The two principal types of identity theft are direct account takeover, and true name theft.

A case of account takeover identity theft arises when an imposter uses any wrongfully obtained personal information to access the victim's existing financial accounts and statements.

The identity thief often uses such a fraudulent identity to gain credit products and services, even to the extent of altering your given address or other information like passwords etc., so that the victim either does not get to see the credit card bills that the thief runs up, or even worse, where the victim is denied their rightful access or use of the account itself.

On the other hand, a true name identity theft refers to a scenario where the thief uses the stolen personal information to activate new accounts. Here the thief often opens a fresh credit card account, secures a loan, takes a cellular phone connection, or establishes a new checking account so as to obtain blank checks.

Services like net banking and online business facilities in which transactions can be made without the personal verification of the user's identity have enabled identity theft to grow rapidly. In these conditions, profiting from the use of stolen personal information is easy because all that an identity thief now requires to carry out the crime is just a series of correct numbers or letters.

How to Prevent Identity Theft

Many hi-tech identity thieves are able to hack into secured databases and steal personal information. However, the old fashioned methods like rummaging in the garbage in order to locate discarded receipts and statements, or peeping stealthily while someone is writing out financial information are still the most common ways of stealing personal information.

So you should always be diligent not to disclose any sensitive personal information to any unauthorized person, and be careful to verify the status of anyone claiming to require access to your details. The next time that you have to fill out a lengthy application form, be it at the bank, or at the Department of Motor Vehicles or anywhere else, beware of impostors and prying eyes: you may well be the target of identity thieves.