Should I Be Concerned About Criminal Identity Theft?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've found that most people equate ID theft only with their finances -- their bank and credit accounts.  They don't see a need for paid protection services, relying instead on bank- or card- or insurance-provided free services.  Or they put fraud alerts on their credit report every three months. While useful, these free services rarely look beyond the finances or offer much in the way of restoration.  I advise people to get all of the reliable free coverage they can, but recognize their limitations, and understand that real identity theft is much more than their finances.

Take for example something called criminal identity theft.  This is where someone pretends to be someone else, hiding their own identity, when caught in the act of a crime, such as illicit drug dealing or breaking and entering.  Often this is pulled off by first obtaining driver's license info either through direct theft or through a breach and then modifying it with the criminal's picture but the victim's information.

If caught, the criminal presents this modified identification, so that it really is the victim whose is saddled with the criminal record.  Often it is an out of state ID, so that the police don't look as carefully at the identification. The criminal skips town, and the victim is saddled with a warrant and possible arrest.

If you are the victim, you now have a legal problem as well as an identity theft problem (which is why -- ok, tiny advertisement here -- the best coverage is LegalShield's combination family legal plus identity theft plan for $49.90/mo).  Most victims of criminal identity theft spend years and lots of money trying to prove they are not the criminal and reversing the effects of the theft.  Often the crimes continue to mount up if the the thief is not caught soon.  The victim's reputation is tarnished, and he/she is dreading the next phone call or letter in the mail.

There are steps you can take to minimize (not eliminate) the chance of becoming a criminal ID theft victim.  Like all ID theft prevention steps, these include guarding your Social Security number and your driver's license; don't give these numbers out without knowing who wants them and why, and what will be done with the numbers. Treat them like cash!  You can check your credit reports with the credit bureaus to make sure there is nothing unexpected there.  Go online to the Social Security Administration and review your statement for obvious errors. You can get a driver's license record report from the DMV to see if there is anything inaccurate or suspicious there, including any photos associated with you.  If so, the DMV can clear the discrepancies.

It is more involved to check much beyond this.  Many agencies and police entities are difficult to contact to see if you are showing up on their radar, yet something may be bubbling just under the surface that will arise eventually. And who wants to keep poking these agencies?

Criminal identity theft, like medical identity theft, is not as visible as financial ID theft, and is much more difficult to rectify.  It doesn't always show up on a credit card or bank statement.  It isn't fixed with a new card. Sometimes the first warning is the police showing up at your door with an arrest warrant! This is when you need a great attorney or law firm ready to help.

Frankly, if you only had to worry about financial ID theft, you can manage this by yourself, with the free services available today.  But criminal and medical identity theft need professional help to monitor and rectify. With recent breaches, all the information needed to create false identities and driver's licenses is readily available from sites on the dark web.  Unless you know how to monitor these sites, you may want to consider services from LegalShield, Lifelock, or Zander Insurance. If I can help you decide, let me know.

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