ABSTRACT
Identity theft has been generally defined as the theft of someone’s identity through the use of some form of personal identifying information that is used for fraudulent activity. The last three to four years have witnessed incredible growth in coverage of this criminal activity. Various methods are employed in the classification of identity theft. Some classify identity theft in relation to how the stolen information is utilized-as in whether the information is used for credit card fraud, bank fraud, and so on. However, for purposes of this chapter, there will be two primary classifications of identity theft. The first classification is the less common of the two and includes situations in which an individual’s identity is stolen and the thief assumes the physical identity of the victim. The second classification involves credit/financial fraud-related identity theft.
