Identity theft may take one of several forms. As a rule, however, a person’s identity is said to be stolen if, unbeknownst to the person, someone else has gathered and is using their personal information, generally for fraudulent financial gain. Thus, for example, a person whose wallet is stolen may later discover that considerable debts have been debited against credit cards in their name—for purchases the person did not make—the thief having used the stolen social insurance number to fraudulently obtain several credit cards.
