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[[File:Figure 2 Example of a Successful Identity Theft Refund Fraud Attempt (28356288536).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Example of an identity theft crime: 1. The fraudster files tax return paperwork in the victim's name, claiming a refund. 2. The IRS issues a refund to the fraudster. 3. The victim submits their legitimate tax return. 4. The IRS rejects the return as a duplicate.]]
'''Identity theft''' occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or [[credit card number]], without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was coined in 1964.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 2007|title=Oxford English Dictionary online|url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50111220/50111220se23|access-date=27 September 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Since that time, the definition of identity theft has been statutorily defined throughout both the U.K. and the [[United States]] as the theft of personally identifiable information. '''Identity theft''' deliberately uses someone else's [[personally identifiable information|identity]] as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits,<ref>Synthetic ID Theft [http://www.unc.edu/~dubal/idtheft/synthetic.htm Cyber Space Times] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009122632/http://www.unc.edu/~dubal/idtheft/synthetic.htm |date=9 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite document |title=Identity Theft: Making the Known Unknowns Known |last=Hoofnagle|first=Chris Jay |date=13 March 2007 |ssrn = 969441}}</ref> and perhaps to cause other person's disadvantages or loss. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences,<ref name="BloombergIdentityTheftEssay">{{cite news |author=Drew Armstrong | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-13/my-three-years-in-identity-theft-hell | title=My Three Years in Identity Theft Hell | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | publisher=Bloomberg | date=13 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919142519/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-13/my-three-years-in-identity-theft-hell | archive-date=19 September 2017 | access-date=20 September 2017 }}</ref> especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, [[Personal identification number|PINs]], [[electronic signature]]s, fingerprints, [[password]]s, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|title=Wisconsin Statutes, Sec. 943.201. Unauthorized use of an individual's personal identifying information or documents.|url=https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/943/III/201|website=Wisconsin State Legislature|access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref>
Determining the link between [[data breach]]es and identity theft is challenging, primarily because identity theft victims often do not know how their personal information was obtained. According to a report done for the FTC, identity theft is not always detectable by the individual victims.<ref>Federal Trade Commission – 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report, p. 4</ref> [[Identity fraud]] is often but not necessarily the consequence of identity theft. Someone can steal or misappropriate personal information without then committing identity theft using the information about every person, such as when a major data breach occurs. A US Government Accountability Office study determined that "most breaches have not resulted in detected incidents of identity theft".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07737.pdf |title=Data Breaches Are Frequent, but Evidence of Resulting Identity Theft Is Limited; However, the Full Extent Is Unknown |work=Highlights of GAO-07-737, a report to congressional requesters |publisher=gao.gov |access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> The report also warned that "the full extent is unknown". A later unpublished study by Carnegie Mellon University noted that "Most often, the causes of identity theft is not known", but reported that someone else concluded that "the probability of becoming a victim to identity theft as a result of a data breach is ... around only 2%".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/research/241full.pdf |title=Do Data Breach Disclosure Laws Reduce Identity Theft? |author=Sasha Romanosky |work=Heinz First Research Paper |publisher=heinz.cmu.edu }}</ref> For example, in one of the largest data breaches which affected over four million records, it resulted in only about 1,800 instances of identity theft, according to the company whose systems were breached.{{cn|date=May 2021}}
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Chief Technology Officer of security at Microsoft, said, "Interested in credit card theft? There's an app for that."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Giles|first=Jim|title='Credit card theft? There's an app for that'|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527524-300-credit-card-theft-theres-an-app-for-that/|access-date=2021-03-19|website=New Scientist|language=en-US}}</ref> This statement summed up the ease with which these hackers are accessing all kinds of information online. The new program for infecting users' computers was called [[Zeus (malware)|Zeus]], and the program is so hacker-friendly that even an inexperienced hacker can operate it. Although the hacking program is easy to use, that fact does not diminish the devastating effects that Zeus (or other software like Zeus) can do on a computer and the user. For example, programs like Zeus can steal credit card information, important documents, and even documents necessary for [[homeland security]]. If a hacker were to gain this information, it would mean identity theft or even a possible terrorist attack. The [[Integrated Threat Assessment Centre|ITAC]] says that about 15 million Americans had their identity stolen in 2012.<ref>https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vit12.pdf</ref>
== '''Types''' ==
Sources such as the [[Non-profit]] [[Identity Theft Resource Center]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.idtheftcenter.org/ |title=Identity Theft Resource Center website |publisher=idtheftcenter.org }}</ref> sub-divide identity theft into five categories:
* Criminal identity theft (posing as another person when apprehended for a crime)
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