Identity theft is basically the act of using your personal information without your knowledge to commit fraud or other crimes. On credit card identity theft, it could mean that such criminals can use your account for their own purchases. How can such crime happen to someone like you? If you use your credit card on your regular purchases, there are a lot of chances that criminal can get hole of your credit and personal records. ) Also, if your mail is delivered to a place where others have ready access to it, criminals can just intercept and redirect your mail to another location so that they will receive them. With enough identifying information, a criminal can assume an individual's identity and conduct a wide range of crimes: for example, applications for loans and credit cards, withdrawals from bank accounts, use of telephone calling cards, or obtaining other goods or privileges which the criminal might be denied if he were to use his real name. It is a dual crime because not only is it committed against an individual's financial life and credit history but also against his or her reputation and social standing in the community and in the workplace. In one notorious case of identity theft, a convicted felon have not only incurred thousands of credit card debt by using another person's identity, he was also able to obtain a federal home loan, and even bought homes, motorcycles, and handguns using the victim's name. It's called identity theft shield, an around the clock system of monitoring your credit, restoring your identity and reimbursing your costs in case your good name is stolen and used against you. And with 1 of out of every 4 Las Vegans at risk of falling victim to this rising crime, identity theft insurance may be the closest thing our society has to a cure. In order to be able to do something about it and protect ourselves against it, we must first be able to understand what it is. Identity theft happens when someone you do not know begins using your personal information for fraud and other crimes without your knowledge. Criminals can get it in a variety of ways. However, after you report identity theft to the police, you should contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is the government agency through which all the cases of identity thefts must pass through before being investigated at the federal level. Go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ to file your complaint and for additional steps to take if you ve been victimized by identity theft.