the.com/identity theft
Someone else enjoys your credit score while you enjoy the panic.
means The crime of stealing someone's personal information—like a Social Security number or account details—to impersonate them, usually for financial gain.
from A 20th-century compound built from two older words: 'identity' (from Latin 'idem,' meaning 'the same') and 'theft' (an ancient Germanic word for stealing). The phrase itself only became common from the 1980s onward, as computerized records and credit systems made it possible to steal not just someone's belongings, but a usable copy of who they officially are.
- most common method
- phishing emails, not dark alleys
- average discovery time
- months after the damage starts
- favorite target
- kids, since nobody checks a child's credit
- best defense
- freezing credit, boringly effective