Identity Theft Glossary

Account Takeover This is actually what an identity thief does. By using your personal information they convince a financial institution to give them control over your account.

Check Washing By stealing a check and dipping it into various chemicals, identity thieves washes away the ink so they can write in a higher amount.

Credit Reporting Agency There are three major credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and Trans Union - who keep track of your credit records, and issue credit reports to those legitimately requesting your credit history.

Data Encryption Most web sites employ data encryption to protect that scrambles your information during e-commerce while in transit and then decodes it upon receipt, making it very difficult for identity thieves to make sense of it.

Dumpster Diving Just like it sounds: identity thieves go thought dumpsters in search of people's personal information.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The FCRA is a U.S. federal law that gives everyone the right to see what is on their credit report for free once a year.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 Federal legislation that was passed to reduce identity theft and to help victims recover more easily. It is the law that ordered the truncation of credit card account numbers on receipts.

Identity Fraud Identity fraud differs from identity theft in that a thief invents personal information to commit a fraud, rather than using information stolen from an actual person.

Identity Theft A fraud which is committed or attempted using a person's identifying information without lawful authority. The most common things an identity thief steals to get loans, credit cards, etc., are: names and addresses, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, employee ID numbers, mother's maiden names, and account information, such as bank and credit card account numbers.

Mail Fraud When identity thieves steal mail or use the mail system to obtain your personal information or commit fraud. This is a federal offense that carries stiff penalties.

Opt-out A prohibition from selling or exchanging your personal information amongst marketers or financial institutions. It protects you from unwanted junk mail and unsolicited phone calls, and therefore reduces identity theft.

Phishing The act of fraudulently inducing someone to give out confidential information, like account numbers or passwords.

Shoulder Surfing When identity thieves spy on someone using an ATM or PIN pad to gain their personal identification number (PIN). Some go so far as to use binoculars to gain a PIN.

Truncated Credit Card Number Thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 all credit card receipts now carry only the last four digits of a credit card number meant to prevent identity theft fraud.