Identity Theft Definition

When someone uses your personal information to commit fraud

Identity theft is when someone uses your personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, ID number, banking account number, username or password) to commit fraud. Some U.S. law enforcement officials consider it the fastest-growing crime in America: it victimizes 10 million Americans and steals $50 billion from businesses and consumers annually.

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Glossary of Terms

Adware Botnet Cracking Crimeware Cyberbullying Cybercrime Cyberstalking Cyberterrorism Data-Theft DoS-Attack Hacking Hoax-Email Identity-Theft Keylogging Madware Malware Pharming Phishing Ransomware Scareware Smishing Social-Engineering Spam Spyware Trojan Virus Vishing Website-Defacement Worm