By looking at a real-life case study we can see the speed and ease with which an identity fraudster can commit the crime of identity theft. This case study of how identity theft is done illustrates just how easy it is for an identity thief to catch a person off guard; a moment’s misguided trust can lead to long term misery and considerable financial loss.

Identity theft is performed in many different ways. One common way for identity to be stolen is as a result of theft of personal documentation. The following case study is an example.

Fiona MacDonald arrived home after a shopping trip. She had put away her purchases, and made a much needed cup of tea. Just as she sat down in her favourite armchair, the phone rang. This call, unbeknown to Ms McDonald, was the start of a nightmare.

The caller was a plausible sounding well spoken gentleman who told Fiona he was employed as a Fraud Officer at her bank. The purpose of the call was to alert Fiona to the fact that, within the past few minutes, there had been a failed attempt to take money from her bank account using her bank card. The bank had identified the activity as “suspicious”.

The caller asked Fiona to confirm whether she had instigated this failed attempt to withdraw cash and to confirm that the bank card was in her possession. Fiona checked her handbag and discovered that her wallet (containing her bank card) was missing, and must have been stolen when she was on her way home from her shopping trip.

The phoney bank official reassured Fiona by confirming her full name and address (information he had obtained from the contents of her stolen purse). He asked her, in turn, to confirm her date of birth and to answer a couple of other “security questions”. He then stated that he needed her PIN number to prevent any fraudulent withdrawals of cash being made with the stolen card. Fiona willingly gave him her PIN number and was relieved to be told that her account was now safe from the activity of the identity thieves who had stolen her purse.

When Ms McDonald subsequently checked her bank account a couple of days later, she discovered that several hundred dollars had been withdrawn from her account on the day she had received the phone call about her stolen bank card. Her bank was able to confirm that the cash had been withdrawn within seconds of her phone conversation with the identity fraudster.

Unfortunately, this was just the start of the nightmare. Over the next few months Ms McDonald began to receive statements and demands for payment for debts that were not hers. Debt collection agencies became involved and made threats concerning commencement of legal actions.

Armed with a full name and address, date of birth and other personal details, as well as bank account details, the identity thief was able to go on a spending spree.

This is how identity theft is done. The full extent of the consequences of a brief unguarded phone conversation was revealed bit by bit over the coming months. Don’t let yourself be a victim, find out how to prevent identity theft happening to you.