Types of Identity Theft
Criminal identity theft involves impersonation and it’s the worst kind of identity theft and the hardest to clean up. You don’t want to end up like Jason Bateman’s character Sandy Patterson, in the movie Identity Thief, where his identity was stolen and used by another individual and he finds out because he owes a bunch of money and has a warrant out for his arrest. Basically, a thief takes over your identity and assumes it as his or her own.
Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.
What Can a Thief Do with Your Driver’s License? With so much media attention focused on computer hacking, cybersecurity, and digital identity theft, it’s easy to forget those good old-fashioned thieves can walk away with your identity, too.
What Can a Thief Do with Your Driver’s License? With so much media attention focused on computer hacking, cybersecurity, and digital identity theft, it’s easy to forget those good old-fashioned thieves can walk away with your identity, too.
The Identity Theft Resource Center maintains a wealth of information for ID theft victims in the form of Fact Sheets which can be found on the ITRC website.
In most cases, your home insurance or renters insurance will cover theft of cash up to $200 or credit cards up to $50, and often those policies now include coverage for identity theft as well, Barry says. If identity theft insurance isn’t included with your homeowners policy, it might be added for about $25 to $50 per year.
Detecting Medical Identity Theft. Read your medical and insurance statements regularly and completely. They can show warning signs of identity theft. Read the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement or Medicare Summary Notice that your health plan sends after treatment. Check the name of the provider, the date of service, and the service provided.
Detecting Medical Identity Theft. Read your medical and insurance statements regularly and completely. They can show warning signs of identity theft. Read the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement or Medicare Summary Notice that your health plan sends after treatment. Check the name of the provider, the date of service, and the service provided.
also might use your Social Security number to file a tax return to receive your refund. If you’re eligible for a refund, a thief could file a tax return before you do and get your refund. Then, when you do file, the IRS will think you already received your refund. If your Social Security number is stolen, another person may use it to get a job.
Synthetic identity theft is the fraudulent use of stolen personally identifiable information (PIF) that is combined with made-up details to create a false identity. The thief may steal an individual's social security number, for example, and use it in conjunction with a false name and address.
For 2018, the IRS, the states and the tax industry joined together to enact new safeguards and take additional actions to combat tax-related identity theft. Many of these safeguards will be invisible to you, but invaluable to our fight against these criminal syndicates.