There are many things or personal possessions that can be owned. Sometimes these items have been purchased, received as gifts or passed down from generation to generation.

In addition, those possessions can have monetary or sentimental value. Some of those items that have sentimental value can include photographs or heirlooms that have been passed down within the family.

The down side of owning things of value is that they may be susceptible to theft. Sometimes theft can be broadly defined as items lost to a fire, flood, earthquake, etc. In addition, there is an element in society made up of individuals who steal from others and can rob law abiding individuals of their prized possessions.

One other item that can be stolen from individuals is something extremely personal. That item is a person’s identity. To increase the general awareness of identity theft it is important to define identity theft. In order to define identity theft it is imperative to know how society defines identity theft and how it can occur.

Definition Of Identity Theft

In order to be aware of identity theft, provide protection and prosecute those who steal another’s identity, it is important to define identity theft. Identity theft is that action or actions taken by another for the purpose of misrepresenting themselves as that individual in order to commit fraudulent acts. Those fraudulent acts can include the illegal accessing of that person’s financial accounts or committing acts of crime. Those acts of crime could include creating new credit cards accounts, obtaining a loan, etc.

Also, to properly define identity theft, it is critical to define the negative impact experienced by the individual whose identity has been stolen. One of the negative repercussions of identity theft is financial loss. Often an identity theft crime will affect a person’s bottom line as thieves access credit cards, bank accounts, etc.

In addition, if not addressed quickly, an identity theft victim will have to deal with damage perpetuated on their good name. Often this damage is reflected in credit ratings, possible criminal activity, employment interviews, etc. Although the victim is innocent, often it takes months or even years for the devastating effects of the identity theft to be cleared.

How Identity Theft Occurs

Additionally, when asked to define identity theft, it may be beneficial to discuss how identity theft occurs. Often identity theft takes place when critical pieces of information are obtained from the individual who is being stalked by an identity theft thief.

These pieces of critical information are generally identification numbers or data that only the owner of that information is privy to. Some of those numbers could be social security numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, a mother’s maiden name, date of birth, etc.

These numbers can be obtained fraudulently by thieves who pose as representatives of service or financial companies in order to obtain these highly sensitive numbers. It is important for the reader to understand that under no circumstances should they give out these sensitive numbers to individuals who ask for them.

Often a company is very clear that they will never ask for these sensitive numbers unless the customer has initiated the call. In addition, often a company will only ask for the last four numbers of a person’s 9 digit social security number.

Also, identity thieves may look through trash or steal a person’s purse or wallet. It is therefore very important to shred all unwanted mail that contains sensitive information as well as never carrying your social security card with you.