Identity theft is the act of stealing someone’s personal information, like their Social Security number or driver's license number, banking login credentials, or other account details, with the intent to use this information to commit fraud. This stolen data is often used to execute identity fraud by opening new fraudulent accounts, conducting unauthorized transactions on the victim's existing accounts, or fabricating synthetic identities, posing significant financial risks to individuals and institutions.
Use case/ examples of identity theft
Phishing: Convincing a victim into revealing personal information via an official-looking email and website, for example, sending a fraudulent email that their Social Security account might be compromised, where the link in the email goes to a website that collects credentials.
Skimming: Harvesting payment card data and PINs by attaching a small device to an ATM or point-of-sale terminal.
Hacking: Breaching a company's databases - possibly using phishing or social engineering techniques to obtain credentials, or testing common passwords - and selling those records on the dark web.
Mail Fraud: Stealing physical documents that come in the mail, like credit card statements or government-issued ID cards, to collect personally identifiable information (PII) needed for identity theft.
