Types of Identity Theft

If there is a kind of thievery that is becoming more and more common it is identity theft. Identity theft is stealing someone else’s identity in order to commit fraudulent crimes and activities in the name of another person. There are different types of identity thefts and in order to prevent being victimized, you should be able to identify the types of this crime.

Here are some of the most common types of identity theft crimes:

Financial Identity Theft
This is the most prevalent kind of ID theft. This type of theft damages credit reports and often empties bank accounts. A criminal steals your identity to gain access to your credit card and bank account information. The criminal then uses your credit card to make purchases and leaves you liable for the bill.

Medical Identity Theft
This is one of the most serious forms of identity theft. A criminal uses a stolen identity in order to het medical and hospitalization benefits. The ailment claimed by the thief will form part of your medical records, which will adversely affect your health verifications.

Criminal Identity Theft
A crime committed under the criminal identity theft becomes difficult to clear. When a crime is made in your name, you can be investigated and even put in prison. This will become an expensive affair as you will have to get a lawyer to prove that you are a victim of ID theft.

Child Identity Theft
Many criminals love to commit child identity theft. They can use the identity of the child for a long time and use the stolen identity to commit various types of financial and criminal acts.

Insurance Identity theft
Insurance identity theft is claiming insurance benefits against your stolen identity. The criminal will collect the benefits from the insurance company.

SSN or NIN Identity Theft
This happens when the culprit gains access to your social security number (referred to as national insurance number in UK). The criminal uses this number to enjoy the benefits that are offered by the government security system which includes employment, pension and other benefits.

Driver’s License Identity Theft
This is usually the easiest identity theft crime to commit. When a criminal is charged with traffic violations, he can assume your identity and you are charged with the offense. This is very crucial if the offense is DUI.

Identity theft is easy to commit because it is very easy to steal information about you. ID theft can be prevented if you remain cautious in keeping your important documents safe and secured.