Identitytheft_intro





**What is Identity Theft? ** Identity theft is a big problem affecting may people annually, people need to be more careful about who they gave their person information out to, however they are not playing attention and are becoming more vulnerable to attacks There are many different types. A few types are:

1. __Character Identity Theft__ -Crime under your name. If crimes are committed under your name you could go to jail for som When someone does aething that you didn’t do. This is an example: Someone with a criminal record stole Harry's wallet. Unbeknownst to Harry, the thief then committed several crimes in Harry's name. Unfortunately, this criminal activity was entered into the database of a background check company that provides data to potential employers. Harry lost his job and has been unable to find work because of the false information.  2. __Social Security Identity Theft__ - Some can steal your ssn and get a job under your name. This repots wages under your name which often leaves you to pay income tax on them. This can cost you a lot of money. Here is a story : Alex lost his wallet, and he never bothered to report it to the police. In 2005, he filed his tax return and expected a refund. Instead, he received nothing. The IRS withheld his refund check to pay off back taxes he owed from 2002. Apparently in 2002, someone had used Alex's SSN to earn wages in Alex's name. This "unreported income" left Alex with a $9000 tax bill.  3. Medical Identity Theft - When someone uses your medical insurance to get treatment under your name. This can cause you to have to pay for it later and you can get denied health care later. This can put you in a situation similar to this one:  An identity thief received treatment for an injury to his hand using a stolen identity. Now, the identity theft victim has been receiving letters demanding payment for drugs and services rendered to the thief.  4. __Driver's License Identity Theft__ - someone commits a traffic crime under your name. If the thief fails to go to court warrants are issued under your name. An example is: An identity thief with a poor driving record obtained a copy of Sara's driver's license. Now, because of the identity thief's poor driving record, Sara's license has been suspended, and she is in danger of losing her auto insurance. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">5. Credit Identity Theft. - Someone uses your credit card to get loans and pay for things. When he fails to pay the bill it comes back to the owner. This can affect your credit score. Kate has a story she can relate to: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> For over six years, Kate has been a victim of identity theft. Even a fraud alert placed on her credit report has not stopped the identity thief. As a result, Kate cannot purchase a home because of bad credit.

By Rabee Works Cited: White, Nicole "Five Types of Identity Theft" []. Kinsey Law Group. 2006 11/24/09 Foley, Linda "Crminal Identity Theft: What to do if it happens to you" []<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Identity theft resource center 11/24/09