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Credit Card Identity TheftA great description of credit card identity theft is provided in the book Identity Theft Inc, which is reviewed on this site. The actual mechanics of organising this fraud seem to be simple enough, but at the same time, very time consuming and require a real attention to detail. In the above mentioned book, the fraudsters found initial details for victims in a local library copy of Who's Who. The book listed many people who in theory all had excellent credit and financial standing. The reality it seems, was very near to the theory. By requesting some details from the United States government, and researching some other details themselves, they proceeded to apply for birth certificates and driving licences. They even went as far as sitting and passing new driving tests for each victim! They would then apply for a passport! As you might imagine, once they held a legitimate - though fraudulent - driving licence and passport, they were essentially their victims. From this point, they would rent an appartment in their new persona. This would provide utility bills if required and a legitimate address at which to receive post. At this point, the fraudsters would apply for many credit and store cards at the same time. According to the details of the book, they would regularly receive around US$100,000 in credit. Over the course of the next month, they would cash out the credit cards, shop like drunken admirals with the store cards and then promptly disappear. In short, they would burn out their credit in one month and then move on to the next victim. Though it is hard to deny that this form of credit card identity theft was anything but massively profitable, it is worth giving a little thought to the above. In essence, the two fraudsters applied for documents, sat driving tests, rented cars, created rented offices and hired telehonist staff, rented appartments and applied for dozens of store and credit cards. This is work. It takes effort, organisational skills and seed capital. Whilst it was clearly very profitable, they were professional. If such a professional were to commit credit card identity theft in your name, there would be little that could be done to stop them once they had begun. Initially, they were invisible to the victim, then from nowhere, their credit and financial standing would be destroyed in a matter of days. The impact of this type of crime would be massive. This is why credit card identity theft is such a destructive crime and why the public need more help and protection. For more information about these topics, please go to:
Identity Theft Definition
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