What Is Identity Theft?

It's known as identity theft, ID theft or identity fraud, so what does identity theft mean?

When someone uses your personal or financial information, without your knowledge and approval, and performs a transaction, usually for financial advantage, you have had your identity stolen. This could be just a one-off incident, but increasingly, once a person's details have been misappropriated, a number of fraudulent transactions take place. Someone is effectively pretending to be you, in order to make a financial gain.

This doesn't necessarily come about just because a wallet or credit card has been lost, and an opportunistic thief uses your card to make a few purchases before the loss is discovered. 

More and more cases of identity theft are the result of deliberate targeting of individuals by criminals seeking to discover as much personal and financial information as possible. When this happens, new bank and credit card accounts can get opened and goods purchased in the victims name, without their knowledge. The end result - fraudulent debt made in your name, that affects your own credit worthiness, and which can take months, sometimes years, to rectify.

Armed with your details taken from a passport, driving licence, your bank or credit card details, bills or receipts, an identity thief can wreak all manner of havoc on your personal finances.

By the time you realise what has happened they will have been long gone. A telephone call from a creditor demanding payment, or a debt collector at your door might be the first inkling you have that your name and your identity have been stolen, and that your financial reputation has been compromised.

Once your financial details - your identity - have been stolen, it can be a long hard road you travel before your financial position and your good name are restored. Identity theft is becoming increasingly problematic in our society, and we should all heed the warnings and make every effort to protect our good name.