Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone unlawfully uses another person’s personal information to open accounts, conduct transactions, or obtain benefits. In financial services, it drives new-account fraud, account takeover, and application fraud. Controls include robust identity proofing, behavioral analytics, velocity limits, and step-up authentication for anomalies. Post-incident processes matter: rapid credential revocation, session killing, and dispute handling reduce harm. Education helps customers spot phishing, vishing, and malware that harvest credentials or documents. For compliance, institutions must document prevention measures, respond to victims fairly, and file SARs when patterns suggest organized crime. Data minimization and strong authentication (e.g., passkeys) shrink the attack surface.