Four Main Types of Identity Theft

Identity theft statistics via the internet is clearly showing a trend that indicates a growing incidence of this crime in the United States and in many other countries around the globe. It is responsible for losses to businesses of billions of dollars each year, and even worse, it has turned lives upside down and created financial havoc for millions of identity theft victims. There are four major types of identity theft and it is important to know what they are so that you can take steps to protect yourself from it.

The four most common types of identity theft are classified by the motivation of the identity thief and are: financial, cloning, criminal, and commercial. Each of these different kinds of identity theft has been outlined below and knowing what the thieves are looking for should help you understand ways to prevent identity theft from affecting your life.

The most common types of identity theft are those that are carried out with the purpose of immediate financial gain. Financial identity theft involves gaining access to your credit card and other financial account information in order to make purchases. This type of identity theft can end up putting an enormous amount of financial debt on your back by getting credit cards and other types of loans in your name. Some brazen identity thieves will go so far as to put utilities, car or apartment leases, and even mortgages in your name, leaving the full burden on you to prove that these debts and obligations are not yours.

Another of the four types of identity theft is known as cloning. The purpose of identity cloning is for the purpose of gaining documents such as a driver's license or a passport because the person cannot obtain such documents in their own name because of past problems and criminal records. In some instances, this type of identity theft may not result in any significant financial losses, but you might end up with a tarnished reputation or a credit history that has been ruined.

The third type of identity theft is carried out for the purpose of committing some type of crime in your name. There have been many identity theft stories in which an innocent person finds themselves facing criminal charges for crimes that the identity thief committed by exploiting your identity. In this crime it is likely that the thief will be carrying a driver's license with your name and address and his photograph and will be racking up driving tickets that will end up coming to your house. Of course, there can also be much more serious crimes that are carried out when a criminal is using your identity and feels he has very little chance of ever having to face the consequences of his actions himself.

The last of the four main types of identify theft is commercial or business identity theft. While it is not as well publicized, businesses can also fall victim to identity theft as well and end up having to deal with similar repercussions to personal identity theft occurrences. One possible type of commercial identity theft happens when a criminal poses as a business owner and executes contracts or sells property that belongs to the company. By the time the damaged parties discovered what has happened, most often the perpetrator of this kind of identity theft is long gone.

In all of these instances, the most important thing to do is to take every precaution to protect all of your personal information. Some of the most basic ways to protect yourself from these and other types of identity theft is to be sure that you never put any financial records in the trash without first shredding them and protecting your mail by only using a locking mailbox. Also, you should frequently check your credit report so that you can be aware of any unauthorized activity on your accounts.