subject: Identity Theft And The Different Types Of This Common Fraud [print this page] Before, when you say identity theft, it is already understood that someone somewhere got hold of your credit card and maxed it in some fancy shop or restaurant. At the turn of the century, credit identity operations have become more sophisticated and different forms and even "specializations" have been conceived.
The types of this kind of thievery are as follows:
Commercial Identity Theft: this type uses a business name in availing loans. Common commercial operations involve a person posing as an affiliate or an employee of a particular business and availing of loans in behalf of the company. But in reality, he or she is not part of the company mentioned.
Financial Identity Theft: this is arguably the most common form wherein people use other people's credit identity to avail themselves of goods and/or services. In the example mentioned above, if your credit card got stolen and the person who got it from you maxed out your card to buy himself material goods or services then that is financial identity theft.
Medical Theft: Medical care is now becoming increasingly expensive that it is almost bordering on luxury for some people. This scenario forces some people to steal other people's medical information to avail of drugs and medical services for themselves. This could also be applied to people availing of drugs that are particularly restricted for them.
So far, these are the types which involves money and material goods. Two other types exist: criminal identity theft and identity cloning. Both still employ a fraudulent claim that they are the person they insist to be while in fact they are not. Criminal identity theft is employed when a criminal is arrested and he or she uses a different identity instead to still keep his records clean. Identity cloning pertains to posing as a person who is not really you. Therefore, it seems as if there were two persons with the same exact identity living simultaneously.
Now, you are briefed about the different types. Knowing which particular type was employed to you will be helpful in planning how to retaliate and reclaim your credit identity. No particular type of credit identity is worse than the other. It depends on the severity of the case. More often it is a case or case basis. But the financial identity theft seems most disadvantageous to the consumer because the transactions made using his credit identity will have to be disputed or else he will have to pay for it.
