subject: Arrest Warrants - How Criminal Identity Theft Can Get You A Warrant [print this page] If you lose your identity to a thief then you can get an arrest warrant
You can't imagine how awful it can be to have your identity stolen - until it happens to you. You can lose all your money, become loaded with debt that you don't owe, have your credit rating shot to pieces and you can find yourself with an arrest warrant for an offence that you didn't commit.
Yes the identity thief can ruin your reputation as well as your finances. Getting an arrest warrant isn't the first thing that you think of when you worry about identity theft but it can happen.
The Internet has grown rapidly over the last few years and with the increase in information available online and the more willing you and I are to do things online then the more opportunities are presented to thieves. Never before has there been so many ways to commit crimes because of it.
This situation isn't helped by the fact that governments seem to be determined to get all of your information online in the name of 'increased security' or 'counter terrorism'. In my opinion, it does the exact opposite in providing more and more opportunities for crimes to be committed. Add to this the fact that governments seem to be incapable of acting responsibly with our information. Sooner or later they end up losing it, having it stolen or even selling it on.
How does criminal identity theft get you an arrest warrant?
When you get your identity stolen you might assume that the thief will help him or herself to the money in your bank account or take out a loan in your name that you will then become liable for. You might start getting bills for hire cars and all sorts of other stuff that you never ordered. The idea that you could also end up with an arrest warrant for something that you never did might not even cross your mind but it is possible.
If a thief steals your identity and then goes and commits a crime of some sort and gets caught, he or she will have to give personal details to the police. If an identity thief gets caught then do you think that he would give the police his own details or use a stolen identity? Most likely it's your details that the police will have on file when the thief skips bail and the arrest warrant is issued. The warrant will be for you and not the thief.
Of course the police should always verify the ID of someone they have just arrested but they don't always have enough time to do that. If the thief was good at what he did then he would surely be able to satisfy any superficial scrutiny of the ID.
Sort out arrest warrant problems quickly
When you have an arrest warrant your best course of action is to get it sorted as soon as possible. this applies whether you actually committed the offence or not. The police don't care whether you are guilty, it's not their job. It is their job to arrest you and they will do it when you least expect it. Make sure that you discover your arrest warrants before the police come to arrest you.
