Identity theft

Identity theft is a form of fraud in which the personal identifying information of an individual, such as a Social Security number, name, or date of birth, is co-opted

by another person to facilitate committing a criminal or fraudulent act by impersonating the victim.

Identity theft, also sometimes referred to as identity fraud, does not usually occur as a stand-alone crime. Instead, identity theft is often committed as part of some other fraud or white-collar crime, such as illegally obtaining credit, taking over existing financial accounts, or establishing cellular phone service in the victim’s name. An identity thief could also take other actions on behalf of the victim, such as establishing residency/citizenship, securing employment, obtaining government benefits, and committing other crimes in the victim’s name. In addition, identity theft can play a facilitating role in potentially more violent crimes such as drug trafficking, people smuggling, and international terrorism. General Accounting Office, Identity Fraud: Prevalence and Links to Alien Illegal Activities, at 10 (GAO-02-830T, June 25, 2002).

While identity theft is not solely an Internet issue, a number of high profile data breaches involving the personally identifiable information (PII) of citizens and consumers has drawn significant attention to the issue.