What happens exactly when someone steals your identity?

It’s true that not all types of fraud will rise to the level of identity theft, and a security breach doesn’t necessarily imply a stolen identity. Identity theft would rather take place when someone is using your personal information to open brand new financial accounts for their personal benefit, file tax returns, and even make fraudulent medical requests.

It’s more than a crime that could cost you a ton of money, as it could also require a lot of time and effort to fix it. “It might tend to create a little bit of a mess to clean up” according to David Salisbury, director of the Center of Cybersecurity and Data Intelligence at the University of Dayton.