Identity theft, identity fraud and/or identity-related crime

Abstract‘Identity thieves make thousands of victims!’ is a typical headline of current e-zines. One pictures thousands of people panicking and pursuing thieves running away with their identities. Reality is different, of course. Identity criminals do no steal identities: they use identity as a tool to steal money. And the typical victim does not notice the crime until long after the criminal has booked a one-way ticket to the tropics. A good reason to have a look at the terminology of identity ‘theft’, identity fraud, and identity-related crime.