Identity theft refers to all types of crimes in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud deception, typically for economic gain.

A classic example of identity theft is a bank fraud that occurs when the fraudster obtains a loan from a financial institution by impersonating someone else. The criminal pretends to be the victim by presenting an accurate name, address, birth date, or other information that the lender requires as a means of establishing identity. The lender has no easy way to discover that the person is pretending to be the victim, especially if an original, government-issued id can't be verified (as is the case in online, mail, telephone, and fax-based transactions). The criminal keeps the money from the loan, the financial institution is never repaid, and the victim is wrongly blamed for defaulting on a loan s/he never authorized.

1. What controls can one incorporate to prevent identity theft?

2. Which of these do you utilize?

3. Have you or someone you know ever been a victim of identity theft? If so, describe.