Answer:
Identity theft is the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person’s private identifying information usually for financial gain: in plain speak, someone finds a way to get your personal information and uses it to steal money from you, or some institution while pretending to be you. Bear in mind that they are stealing your information without your permission, and they can do so by stealing the name, driver's license, or any sort of national ID number where you live. For a lot of scams, they ask for your passport number. So basically, they use your ID and they commit a scam or fraud. There are many different kinds of identity theft, and I swear to God, there are folks out there trying every day to come up with new ones.
A stolen identity is something that you should take seriously, and something that you should worry about. I have read off many cases where people have totally taken over people’s entire life- taken their jobs, home(s), money, wife/husband, yes they did- you would be surprised what a little dye and plastic surgery can do. And in most cases, the real person has a very hard time trying to prove that they are who they say they are. I could remember seeing a movie years ago when the actual person tried to prove their case- they were thrown in jail, and it took some very skilled detective work to get them out. So, be on guard and be very careful.
