 TITLE: How Common Is Identity Theft? CONTENT: What Are the Most Common Types of Identity Theft?\n-------------------------------------------------\nAlthough there are many types of identity theft, most fall into these main categories:\n*   **Unauthorized credit and debit card use**: Thieves use your card credentials to make unauthorized purchases.\n*   **Account takeover**: Here, fraudsters access your account information and use it to change account details, make purchases or withdraw funds. Targets include checking and savings accounts, but also accounts linked to credit cards, mobile phones, investments—the list is long.\n*   **Opening credit accounts or loans**: This is when your personal identifying information is used to open credit card or loan accounts. The credit accounts are linked to your identity, and when the fraudsters ultimately default, it damages your credit in the process. If the account is disputed and removed from your credit reports, the credit score damage should go away.\n*   **Government, identification, job or tax fraud**: Fraudsters use your identity to receive government benefits, generate fake identification, offer documentation to employers or file fraudulent taxes (to get a refund). Government document and benefit fraud saw an explosion in 2020—up 1,400% over the prior year, according to FTC data—most likely due to a rise in COVID-19-related fraud.\nThe following chart compares the number of identity theft reports by category the FTC received in the Q3 2020 with the same quarter in 2019. Overall, the FTC received more than 418,000 identity theft reports during the first three quarters of 2020, almost double the roughly 220,000 reports they saw during the same period in 2019. END