Identity Theft

With stolen information, a thief may buy things with the victim's credit cards, open new credit cards or phone, electricity, or gas accounts in the victim's name, steal a tax refund, get a job or medical care, or pretend to be the victim if arrested. The information often comes from data breaches, which can expose the personal details of millions of customers, or from scam calls, texts, and emails that trick people into handing it over.

Signs of identity theft include a bill that stops arriving, which may mean someone changed the billing address; charges for things the victim didn't buy or an unexpected new bill; bank withdrawals the victim didn't make; and accounts on a credit report that the victim doesn't recognize.

The FTC recommends a credit freeze, which is free and stops anyone from opening a new credit account while it is in place, and a fraud alert, which tells businesses to check with the person before opening a new account in their name. Other steps are keeping documents with personal information in a safe place and shredding them before disposal, asking why an organization needs a Social Security number before giving it, using strong passwords, and adding two-factor authentication wherever it is offered.

Paid credit monitoring services watch credit reports for changes, but they won't alert the user when someone withdraws money from a bank account or files a tax return with the victim's Social Security number. In the US, victims report identity theft to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov and get a free personal recovery plan with next steps.