Identity theft is a form of fraud that is becoming increasingly more common, which may be one of the reasons it is being dealt with harshly in the courts. According to the Identity Fraud Study of 2017, identity thieves have stolen over $107 billion in the last six years.
Identity theft is when one person takes information of another person for the purpose of assuming the victim’s name or identity to make transactions or purchases. Whereas Ohio residents may think the traditional identity theft is going through trash bins looking for bank account or credit card statements and making fraudulent credit card purchases, the reality is that the crime has evolved to include stealing online identities. High tech identity thefts are often accused of accessing corporate databases to view customer information. All identity theft is not equal and it is important to understand the charges one is facing to ensure that an adequate defense can be mounted.
Criminal identity theft is when someone is trying to evade law enforcement agencies pursuit of them, such as represent oneself as someone else to avoid a summons, prevent discovery of a previous arrest warrant or of a criminal record. Medical identity theft takes place when someone is representing themselves to be another person to receive medical care and in financial identity theft, another person’s information is used to obtain goods, services and benefits. Most white collar criminal charges of identity theft stem from this latter type of action.
There are a number of reasons why an individual may be in possession of someone else’s personal information and an experienced defense attorney may be able to highlight them when mounting a defense. Consulting an experienced professional as quickly as possible might be beneficial for Ohio residents facing criminal charges.