Synthetic Identity Theft

A variation of Identity Theft which has recently become more common is Synthetic Identity Theft, in which identities are completely or partially fabricated. The most common technique involves combining a real social security number with a name and birth-date other than the ones associated with the number. This is the “latest thing” in the ID theft world. The thief will take parts of information from many victims and combine it. The new identity isn’t any specific person, but all the victims can be affected when it’s used.

Synthetic Identity Theft is more difficult to track as it doesn’t show on either person’s credit report directly, but may appear as an entirely new file in the credit bureau or as a sub-file on one of the victim’s credit reports. Synthetic Identity Theft primarily harms the creditors who unwittingly grant the fraudsters credit. Individual victims can be affected if their names become confused with the synthetic identities, or if negative information in their sub-files impacts their credit ratings.

Synthetic Identity Theft has also been used to describe any act in which the criminal attempts to convince someone they are another person, real or fictional. This careful wording is no doubt reactionary to the the US Supreme Court ruling that an illegal immigrant has not committed a crime unless he or she knew they SSN they were using belonged to an actual citizen.

Where it gets serious is when your Social Security number gets into databases designed to flag criminals. If a background check is ever done, your number shows up and you’re accused of the crime. Just because it has a different name attached to the number won’t automatically prove your innocence. You’ll probably be accused of using an alias. You could easily be turned down for a job even if you’re able to prove it wasn’t you.

If someone created an identity using your Social Security number and was accused of murder, your name would pop up in that database search. If taxes haven’t been paid on any income for your number, you could be hounded by the IRS for back taxes and fees.

Here’s a couple of things to look for to see if you’ve been victimized. Please don’t blow them off and start digging to find out what’s going on.

* Look carefully at your yearly Social Security statement. Make sure there is nothing more than the income you actually reported.
* You get lots of mail in someone else’s name (This could be a BIG Clue that you have become a victim).