The Four Main Types of ID Theft

Financial ID Theft

When most people think of ID theft, they think of financial ID theft. Financial ID theft involves the use of your name and social security number by someone else who was not authorized to use it. This person will use your name and social security number to apply for credit cards, loans, utility services, etc. Then they usually won’t pay the bill and the person whose identity was stolen gets stuck with the tarnished credit.

Identity Cloning

With identity cloning, the criminal clones the identity of another individual to start a new life. They live and work under this new identity. Income is reported under the victim’s social security number and credit is opened under the victim’s name. This type of ID theft is usually committed by illegal aliens or criminals trying to hide from law enforcement.

Criminal ID Theft

Criminal ID theft is another form of identity theft. However, with criminal ID theft a criminal gives law enforcement the identity theft victim’s information instead of their own when stopped by law enforcement. If and when a warrant for arrest is issued, it is issued in the name of the person who was actually just a victim of ID theft.

Commercial ID Theft

People aren’t the only victims of ID theft -- businesses can be the victims of ID theft too. Generally, the ID theft criminal will open credit cards or checking accounts in the name of the business and the business doesn’t find out until collection notices start being sent to the business.

While there are various types of ID theft, they all have one thing in common -- they’re illegal. If you or a business you operate for has been the victim of identity theft, it’s important to immediately report it to the proper authorities.