What Gets Usually Stolen In a Identity Theft?
A stolen identity involves criminals stealing the personal details of others, which can then be used by the thief for personal gain. It comes in a variety of forms and can be divided into 4 main categories:
Financial - this involves stealing other people’s personal details to gain financial profit, such as taking out a loan, getting credit cards or simply withdrawing funds from an account.
Criminal - this involves giving someone else’s identity when questioned, arrested or prosecuted for a crime.
Identity Cloning - this is when individuals steal whole identities to obtain vital documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, medical records, etc.
Commercial - this is the obtaining of finance using a false or stolen business identity.
The most common types of stolen details are of course, credit card and bank account numbers. These are the types we are most aware of and quite simply, these allow the thief to access our financial accounts, which are then either emptied completely or charged with fraudulent purchases. There is nothing more horrifying than checking your bank balance to find it completely empty!
However it’s not all doom and gloom. As major companies and organizations become more aware of this type of fraud, they are constantly improving security for personal accounts. Yet as the industry is developing new ways to keep criminals out, fraudsters are finding ever more creative ways to get their hands on your personal information.