Ask anyone who has ever had their identity stolen and they will tell you that it usually takes years to recover from such a breach. This highly personal crime goes far beyond using another person’s name to make a major purchase at a department store. In addition to credit card charges, bank account withdrawals, Social Security tampering, and other ways your life would be affected, unrelated crimes can also be committed, in your name, for which you may be held liable.

It’s pretty safe to assume that when you hear the phrase “identity theft,” you’ll immediately know what’s being talked about. However, not many people are aware that criminal identity theft it takes this type of crime a step beyond simply racking up charges on someone else’s credit cards.

In fact, criminal identity theft is the term used when an individual impersonates another person when confronting a law enforcement officer. In other words, if someone, who has taken your identity, is arrested or otherwise approached by a law enforcement officer and offers some form of identification that identifies you by name, then you have crossed the line of stealing your identity. identity to identity theft. criminal identity theft.

By obtaining vital documents such as driver’s license, social security card, and other legal documents in your name, they can effectively “become” you. In some cases, these people build a life for themselves in some other part of the world, and unless a red flag is raised from you, you may never know until something drastic happens, like a warrant issued for your arrest. in her name.

Getting a job, buying a home, getting a loan, and every other area you can think of will be affected if such an event occurs. In most cases, it takes a specific set of circumstances for it to be known that an identity theft crime has been committed. Some examples of this would be a discovery that there is a criminal record in your name that makes you ineligible for a particular job, a denial of a loan or application for a mortgage as a result of unpaid unpaid debts, or an arrest as a result of a outstanding warrant in your name when you are simply pulled over for a routine traffic violation or seat belt check.

The real tragedy here is that the burden of proof falls on the victim when it comes time to clear up these issues, which can take years in the legal system and cost thousands of dollars as the court clock ticks down until you can prove that you are, in fact, who you say you are and that you did not commit the crimes of which you are accused. This particular type of criminal activity occurs more often than you can imagine and has devastated the lives of countless innocent people.

If you should be the target of criminal identity theft, here are just some of the things you can do to begin the process of clearing your name within the legal system:

• Report the misidentification to your local law enforcement agency

• File an official phishing report

• Gain knowledge of the particular laws within your state regarding criminal identity theft and your rights as a victim

• Insist that the law enforcement agency taking the phishing report file a copy with authorities in the state or county where the perpetrator resides.

• Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles, in case your license has been violated

• Check to see if your state has victims’ rights groups or other advocates that can help you win your case.

• Hire an Attorney Who Has Experience in Criminal Identity Theft

Don’t let anyone ruin your good name – take steps to protect your documents and other forms of identification. Otherwise, there may be an impostor out there who will be laughing all the way to the jail cell – yours.