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Identity theft is not a new phenomenon. For years, perpetrators have rummaged through garbage and dumpsters in search of credit card receipts and financial statements in hopes of using the information for criminal purposes. However, recent developments in telecommunications and computer processing have made it more convenient for identity thieves to exploit stolen identities.
 What is Identity Theft?
While there are numerous variations of the crime, identity theft is essentially the act of stealing another person's identity, without their knowledge or consent, to commit fraud, purchase goods and services or to commit fraud and other crimes in that person's name.
Obtaining pieces of personal information like credit card numbers, driver's license numbers, Social Insurance Numbers/Social Security Numbers, and date of birth can earn criminals thousands of dollars in a very short period of time. Armed with this type of information, identity thieves can take over a another person's financial accounts, apply for loans, credit cards and other services, purchase vehicles, cell phones, take luxury vacations and so on. Since bills for charges incurred are often sent to a different address, the victim will not be aware that debt is mounting in their name until a collection department tracks them down. Identity theft can take months, and sometimes even years, to detect and it can take just as long to correct the damage.
How Can Identity Thieves Get Personal Information?
Regardless of your best efforts to keep your personal information safe and to minimize the risk of it falling into the wrong hands, skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods to obtain your data, such as:
- Steal personal property, like wallets, purses and mail that may contain personal information.
- Rummage through your garbage at home or work to find enough personal information to hijack your identity.
- Gather information that you may post on the Internet.
- Change your address in order to divert statements from bogus bank and credit accounts to another location
- Obtain your financial information by masquerading as a landlord or employer
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