Criminal Identity Theft.

A stolen identity used for criminal activities is the worst consequence.

Stolen identities are sometimes used to perpetrate crimes such as to threaten national security or commit acts of terrorism. Ramsey Yousef, suspected mastermind of the 1st World Trade Center bombing in 1993, was caught with dozens of stolen identities, passports, and driver's licenses. A short time after that bombing, and before he was caught, he had used a fake identification card to board a Philippines Airline Jumbo Jet to plant a liquid bomb, hidden in a bottle of contact lens fluid. The bomb later exploded over the Sea of Japan but did not bring the plane down.

Stolen personal information can be used to forge military identification cards,
obtain driver's licenses and passports, sustain illegal immigration, garner illegal employment, and of course, the old staple, foster espionage. Everybody knows that it doesn't make sense to commit a crime in your own name, don't we?

How serious is it to have a felony committed in your name? Serious enough that victims of identity theft have been arrested, even jailed, for crimes they did not commit.

Ever been audited by the IRS and tried to explain that the extra income was as a result of criminal identity theft? Did they believe you? Across the nation, people have been confronted, arrested and otherwise humiliated for crime they did not commit. Their only hope was that the real criminal had left some form of evidence behind, fingerprints, etc, that would absolutely clear their name.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit consumer information and advocacy program out of San Diego, California mentioned a case where a major drug dealer used the identity of a high-tech company president to do his "business".

As a result of this criminal's use of the stolen identity, the executive, who often travel outside the United States, has to carry a letter from law enforcement to explain that he is not the fugitive drug dealer. His name is now flagged for inspection each time he returns to the US. Law enforcement from another state even entered his bedroom one morning and tried to arrest him at gunpoint! We can guarantee this must not have been a fun experience!

“'Operation Protect The Children' in Utah, showed that as of July 2006, there was an escalating crime spree taking place that involved the identities of children under 12.”

Why you must protect your children from criminal Identity theft. NOW!

As if jeopardizing adults was not bad enough, Criminal Identity Theft is quickly moving into the realm of children's ID's. Some experts are expressing the fear that child identity theft figures are understated, since most young victims do not discover the crime for years, maybe not until they are old enough to apply for a driver's license or a student loan.

Identity thieves treat personal data from children and data from adults the same way, with one distinction. They will create NEW credit accounts for child victims, whereas the focus on adult victims is towards EXISTING accounts. The end result is, the crime is much more serious for children.

According to a Report in July, 2006 from 'Operation Protect The Children' in Utah, there is an alarming crime spree going on involving stolen identities from victims under 12 years of age. In a joint investigation by the Utah's Attorney General, the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, state records show that approximately 1,800 Social Security Numbers belonging to children under 13 have been compromised. This is in one year, for one state, AND those are only figures they can verify!

Let's now discuss the Identity Thief, who is he/she and what are their incentives for committing this crime.