identity theft

Crimes that range from stealing someone's credit card number to concocting phony personas, complete with credit reports and college degrees. This is a federal crime in which the perpetrator steals your personal or financial information in order to assume your identity for their own financial gain.

You can protect yourself against online fraud and identity theft by carefully screening and deleting unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) messages that ask you to visit an imposter Web site and provide personal information (such as a password or a social security number). If you suspect you have provided confidential account or personal information to a fraudulent Web site, call the customer service phone number on your bank statement immediately and report it.