Identity theft, the theft and use of personal info for criminal purposes, is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA. Crooks are taking full advantage of the Internet to steal peoples identity, using it for all kinds of malicious purposes Identity theft, the theft and use of personal info for criminal purposes, is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA

Methods Crooks Use to Steal Your Personal Identity on the Internet

In order to steal peoples identity the thief requires crucial information such as name, address, date of birth, social insurance number, and mother's maiden name. This is obtained through many methods, both online and offline. Thieves steal identity on the Internet by using a wide range of methods.

• Peer-to-peer file sharing programs, like Kazaa can open up sections of the users computer that they would never knowingly share.  Just imagine sharing your email, web pages that you have surfed, and documents that you have written, to anyone in cyberspace who cares to access it.  Well, this actually  happens when computer users unknowingly share their entire hard drive by the way the permissions & settings have been selected on the file-sharing program downloaded on their computer.
• Phishing scams - Ever received an email from PayPal, eBay, or a financial institution asking you to log onto a website to confirm your online user ID and password or other personal password? Well, if you have, you have seen a scam called phishing. It is called phishing because criminals fish the water with millions of pieces of spam, hoping a few fish will swallow the bait. The unsuspecting user thinks that they are going to the companies actual site, when in reality they are going to the criminals site. Pretty nasty eh? Well, don't be afraid. My Phishing Scams Page contains information on phishing scams, how to protect yourself from phishing, what to do if you have fallen a victim to phishing, and links to sites on phishing.
• Spoofing - Email which is forged to appear as though it was sent by someone other than the actual source. Often spoofing is used in conjunction with phishing.
• Spam
• Web site hacking
• Password fishing
• Keystroke Loggers
• Remote Access Trojans (RATs) - the most common type of trojan horse

How Criminals Use the Personal Information They Steal through Identity Theft

Wondering what those nasty crooks do with your personal information once they obtain it.

• They may call your credit card company and change the address of the account. Because the bill is being sent to another address it may be sometime before they realize that someone else is using their credit card. By this time possibly thousands of dollars could be emptied from your credit card.
• They may open credit cards in your name. When the impostor doesn't pay the bills the delinquent accounts are than reported on your credit report. 
• They may open a bank account in your name. The criminals might establish a phone or wireless service in your name. 
• They may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks using that account. 
• They may counterfeit checks, debit, or credit cards. They also might authorize electronic transfers in your name, and drain your bank account. 
• They might even buy themselves a car by taking out an auto loan in your name. How generous of you! 
• They may get a job, even filing fraudulent tax returns in your name.
• They may give your name to the police during the arrest. Worst case scenario, they don't show up for their court date, and the police are at your door with a warrant for your arrest. 
• They may get identification such as a driver's license issued with their picture, in your name. You didn't realize your appearance changed so much, did you? 
• They declare bankruptcy in your name in order to avoid paying the debts that they have incurred under your name, or to avoid eviction.