Identity Theft
Fraudulent use of another person's personal information — such as SSN or credit details — to commit financial crimes.
What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft occurs when someone fraudulently obtains and uses another person's personal identifying information — such as Social Security numbers, bank account credentials, credit card numbers, or medical insurance data — to commit financial fraud or other crimes. It can damage credit scores for years and require extensive time to resolve. The FTC recommends credit freezes and fraud alerts as primary preventive tools.
Example
After a data breach exposes a consumer's Social Security number, a thief opens three credit cards and takes an auto loan in their name. The victim learns of the theft when a collection notice arrives. Resolving the fraud requires filing FTC reports, disputing accounts with all three credit bureaus, and potentially seeking a court-issued identity theft affidavit.
Source: FTC — IdentityTheft.gov