IDShield Blog

Criminal identity theft happens when someone who is cited or arrested for a crime uses someone else’s personal information as ID. The result: a criminal record now exists in the name of the person whose ID was hijacked. This can have all sorts of repercussions, and...

Synthetic identity theft occurs when a fraudster combines real and fake personal information to create a new identity—as opposed to stealing an existing one.  A thief can use a real Social Security number combined with a fake name and date of birth to ‘Frankenstein’...

As the Fab Four sang, you can’t avoid the tax man. But if you’re careful, you can avoid tax identity theft. What is tax identity theft? It’s when someone steals your identity and fraudulently files taxes or works in your name. Translation: someone else can end up with...

What is employment identity theft? Employment identity theft is when someone steals another person’s identity and uses it to get a job or pass a background check. Some experts say that it’s the most prevalent form of identity theft out there. When it comes to scams,...

The rule “thou shalt not steal” is ignored by cybercriminals. Unfortunately, identity theft is a booming business - it’s up by over 400% since 2010. The most common form of identity theft is when people use someone’s Social Security numbers and other personal...

Identity theft is when someone steals your Personal Identifiable Information and uses it for criminal activity. It’s one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Just how common is identity theft in the US? The answer: common indeed.  It’s increased by over 400%...

If you have been the victim of identity theft, you will undoubtedly want to report it as soon as possible to prevent further damage to your credit and good name. But to who? Your first stop should be the Federal Trade Commission, which is the primary law enforcement...

Identity theft is a serious business, and business is booming. Nearly 42 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2021, up a staggering 79% over 2020.  As every aspect of your life goes digital, your personal information lives on hundreds, if not thousands...

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is unique information that can be used to link to an individual’s identity. In some cases, stolen PII can help identity thieves fraudulently access someone else’s identity. PII can include your full name, date of birth, and...

Identity theft can take up to 18 months to resolve on your own. The most recent statistics are alarming. 23 million people, or about 9% of U.S. residents over 16, have been identity theft victims. For 90% of them, the most recent incident involved the misuse, or...

Why would another individual rent living space in your name? There are multiple answers to that question, and none of them bode well for anyone victimized by this scheme. It means a scam artist holds their identity details and intends to maximize that data’s value....

Why would another individual rent living space in your name? There are multiple answers to that question, and none of them bode well for anyone victimized by this scheme. It means a scam artist holds their identity details and intends to maximize that data’s value....