According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit organization based in San Diego, California, there are different types of Identity Theft.
Criminal identity theft (posing as another person when apprehended for a crime)
Identity cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life)
Medical identity theft (using another's identity to obtain medical care or drugs)
Child identity theft
(Source Wikipedia Article on Identity Theft)
Here are a few details about what you should be aware of concerning these types of Identity Theft:
Criminal Identity Theft
When a criminal fraudulently identifies himself to police as another individual at the point of arrest, it is sometimes referred to as "Criminal Identity Theft." In some cases criminals have previously obtained state-issued identity documents using credentials stolen from others, or have simply presented fake ID.
Identity Cloning and Concealment
In this situation, the identity thief impersonates someone else in order to conceal their own true identity. Examples might be illegal immigrants, people hiding from creditors or other individuals, or those who simply want to become "anonymous" for personal reasons.
Unlike identity theft used to obtain credit which usually comes to light when the debts mount, concealment may continue indefinitely without being detected, particularly if the identity thief is able to obtain false credentials in order to pass various authentication tests in everyday life.
Medical identity theft
Medical identity theft occurs when someone seeks medical care under the identity of another person. In addition to risks of financial harm common to all forms of identity theft, the thief's medical history may be added to the victim's medical records. Inaccurate information in the victim's records is difficult to correct and may affect future insurability or cause doctors relying on the misinformation to deliver inappropriate medical care.
Child identity theft
Child identity theft occurs when a minor’s Social Security number is used by another person for the imposter’s personal gain. The imposter can be a family member, a friend, or even a stranger who targets children.
The Social Security numbers of children are valued because they do not have any information associated with them. Thieves can establish lines of credit, obtain driver’s licenses, or even buy a house using a child’s identity. This fraud can go undetected for years, as most children don’t discover the problem until years later.
Child identity theft is fairly common, and studies have shown that the problem is growing. The largest study on child identity theft, as reported by Richard Power of the Carnegie Mellon Cylab with data supplied by AllClear ID, found that of 40,000 children 10.2% were victims of identity theft.
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