Identity fraud facts for kids

Identity fraud is when someone uses another person's personal information without permission. They do this to trick others, get things, or do something wrong. Most of the time, identity fraud is about getting money or things. For example, someone might use your credit card, bank account, or try to get a loan in your name. Sometimes, people use fake ID cards or papers to get into places they shouldn't, or to trick government offices. Often, these fake documents use real people's information, which can cause big problems for those people.

Personal information can be taken secretly. This is often called identity theft. A person doing the trick might use your basic details like your name, address, username, or secret code (PIN). They use this to get into your online accounts, like banking, email, or social media. They might do this to find even more information about you. Even worse, they could use your information to open new credit cards or get loans in your name.

Sometimes, identity fraud happens even without someone stealing your information. This can be if you gave someone your details for one reason, but they used it for something else to trick someone. Or, it could be if the person whose identity is used is actually helping the person doing the fraud. There have been many cases where companies were hacked and personal information was stolen. For example, in 2011, the PlayStation Network was hacked, and personal and credit card details from 77 million accounts were taken.

Using a stolen credit card without permission is a type of fraud. It's a bit different from full identity fraud, but it's still about tricking people. People might also use fake names, fake ID cards, or lie about their age to hide who they really are. This is also a type of identity fraud. For example, a younger person might lie about their age to buy things they are not old enough for, or to play in a sports team when they are actually too old.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or money information without your permission. They do this to trick a person or a company into giving them things or services. 'Personal or money information' usually means things like your name, address, credit card number, bank account number, a special unique ID number (like a Social Security number in some countries), or your medical insurance number. 'Things or services' can include opening bank accounts, making purchases with a credit card, getting money back from taxes, opening a cell phone account, or getting money from the government unfairly.

What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?

Synthetic identity fraud is when someone creates a fake identity. They do this by mixing real information with made-up details. For example, they might use a real unique ID number (like a Social Security number) but combine it with a fake address and other made-up facts. The person doing the trick can then use this fake identity to get real ID cards, like driver's licenses or passports. They can also open credit cards and other accounts. This type of fraud causes a lot of money to be lost. Experts estimated that it caused about $5 billion in losses in 2014, and it was expected to grow to $8 billion by 2018.

Why Are Kids Targeted?

It's thought that the identities of between 140,000 and 400,000 children are used wrongfully every year. A child's identity is very appealing to identity thieves. An expert named Steve Toporoff from the Federal Trade Commission (a government group that protects people's rights) says that child identity theft is a big problem. However, it's hard to know exactly how many kids are affected. This is because families often don't find out that a child's identity has been stolen until many years later.

See also

• Carding (fraud)