More Examples of Identity Theft Scams

Identity thieves also include crimes like these in their repertoire of dirty tricks:

They make long-term financial commitments, like taking out mortgages or buying cars, using their victim’s credit history.
They establish, use, and abandon dozens of charge accounts—without paying.
They may run up huge amounts of debt, then file for bankruptcy in their victim’s name, ruining their victim’s credit history and reputation.

Sometimes, the thieves aren’t after money. They may use your identity to commit crimes like these:
They may threaten national security or commit acts of terrorism. The September 11 hijackers used fake IDs to board their planes.
They use stolen personal information to forge military identification cards, as recently happened at an army base near Washington, DC. This was a potential threat to national security.
They pile up traffic tickets in your name with no intent to pay them.
They commit felonies using your identity. Victims of identity theft have been arrested, even jailed, for crimes they didn’t commit.
They may obtain a passport in your name to bring someone into the country for any one of a number of illegal reasons—human trafficking, for example.