Identity Fraud

Identity fraud may occur when someone steals personal information, opens credit card accounts in the victim's name without permission, and charges merchandise to those accounts. Conversely, identity fraud does not occur when a credit card is simply stolen. Stealing one’s credit card may be consumer fraud, but is not identity fraud. Identity fraud is a synonym of unlawful identity change. It indicates unlawful activities that use the identity of another person or of a non-existing person as a principal tool for merchandise procurement.

Identity fraud can occur without identity theft, as in the case where the fraudster has been given someone's identity information for other reasons but uses it to commit fraud, or when the person whose identity is being used is colluding with the person committing the fraud. One case of identity fraud is when the PlayStation Network was hacked into, and the man responsible for this took the information from everyone who had their credit card information installed on the Network. It took three months to fix the problem, when it occurred. Moreover, identity fraud does not necessarily involve colluding or theft of another's personal information; it can also involve the use of fake names, ID cards, falsified or forged documents, and lying about his or her own age to simply "hide" his or her true identity. Reasons for this type of identity fraud may include wanting to purchase tobacco or alcohol as a minor as well as desire to coninue playing on a certain sports team or organization when that person is really too old to compete.