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Tuesday, 12 September 2006
Identity Fraud Basics
In addition to making fraudulent purchases under your name and credit, as is
the case with identity theft, identity fraud includes the assumption of your
personal information for criminal purposes. Many times criminals need only
your Social Security number (SSN), driver's license number, and credit card
numbers to successfully steal your identity.
Identity fraud is divided into four main categories:
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Financial ID theft - The most prevalent of ID fraud, involves using your name and SSN to apply for credit cards, loans, apartments, or car leases, etc.
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Criminal ID theft - When the imposter provides your information to law enforcement when questioned instead of his own. In this case, an arrest warrant can be issued for your arrest without you ever knowing it. He can then live, work, and spend as you.
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ID cloning - When the perpetrator uses your information to establish a whole new life for himself.
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Business/commercial ID theft - Involves imposters using business accounts to commit fraud. This is typically discovered when customers start to complain about being double-billed or when the business rating score starts to lower significantly. In-house accounting can usually catch fraudulent activity, but for larger companies, this is harder to monitor.