What’s Criminal Identity Theft?

Criminal identity theft is said to occur when a criminal – arrested or cited for a crime – present himself as someone else, using that person’s identifiable information as well as name. As a result, a criminal record gets established in the name of the innocent victim, who might only get aware of the crime in his name until it’s too late. During criminal identity theft, the criminal may present photographic identification, either fake or real, or just personally identifiable information like Social Security Number or Driver’s License along with the name of the victim.

Although identity theft itself is a crime, the phase "criminal identity theft" could be confusing. However, it particularly refers to the type of crime in which the criminal deliberately mislead the law enforcement personnel to believe that the arrested or cited person is someone else. While this type of crime occurs rarely, when they happen, the consequences can be severely damaging.

Let’s understand this with an example. An impersonator, cited for a misdemeanor or traffic violation, has promised to show up in the court. In case the impersonator fails to appear, the authority may issue a warrant, which could be in the name of the victim. During this time, the criminal identity theft victim would possibly be unaware of any warrant of arrest being issued in his name.

How Do Malefactors Commit Criminal Identity Theft?

Fraudsters can easily commit such crime, and it happens when a thief steals the identity of someone else. This is a pure and real identity theft, which usually involves a driver’s license with the stealer’s picture and the information of the victim. Once criminals have access to that, they can freely commit such a crime in the name of their targeted victims.

It is important to remember that identity theft is a long-term offence. The malicious activity may go undetected for 6 to 12 months or even more than that. It’s for this reason medical identity theft prevention is crucial and that is only possible through constant monitoring of medical identity.


How to Discover that You Might be a Victim of Criminal Identity Theft

Often times, people don’t realize that they have become a victim of criminal identity theft, but there are some signs that could suggest so:

  1. Errors in Social Security Statement
  2. Possible errors on background checks
  3. Sacked with a reason of an existing criminal record in your name
  4. Unable to get an apartment or a job due to a false criminal record in your name.

Basic Measures to Prevent Criminal Identity Theft

You can take the following measures to cut down your chances of becoming a victim of criminal identity theft:

  1. Keep your Driver’s License and Social Security Number hidden and safe
  2. When getting a new driver’s license and/or credit card, ensure that their numbers differ. If both the numbers are same, thieves can still use them.
  3. Be as digitally secure as you can and manage paper records in the best possible manner.
  4. Criminal identity theft often occurs when the victims fail to take any necessary steps to secure their identities
  5. Get a Credit Security Freeze and consider having a comprehensive Criminal Identity Theft Protection Plan.

Criminal Id Theft Protection Services from IdentityMaxxPlus

The best way to keep yourself protected from criminal identity theft is to safeguard your personal identity with a comprehensive criminal identity theft protection plan. Here are a few advantages of IdentityMaxxPlus:

  1. Criminal Background Reporting: Our comprehensive identity theft protection services lets you see the complete criminal history of you, your family members, neighbors, teachers, babysitters, or anyone you feel should be assessed. We have the capability to receive criminal data from all 50 U.S. states.
  2. Criminal Background Monitoring: One of the most-scariest facets of identity theft is that imposters can use your identity to commit crimes – often violent or serious ones. As part of our comprehensive criminal identity theft protection and monitoring services, we will keep a constant eye on your criminal records to check if a criminal is using your personally identifiable information, or if they’ve been arrested by the concerned authorities.
  3. Credit Security Freezes: This feature of our criminal id theft protection allows us to prevent a credit reporting agency from releasing your credit report information without your consent.
  4. Standard Early Warning Systems: Our cutting-edge detection and warning systems let us generate instant alerts if your information is being changed without your permission.
  5. Limited Power of Attorney: This allows you to have a Professional Advocate to restore your lost identity on your behalf. We don't just cover you, but your whole family, including kids.

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