Dumpster Diving – Dumpster divers are sometimes able to piece together just enough information from old billing statements, financial documents and bank or credit card statements to get the names, addresses and account numbers of their victims. This information can then be used to open up account

Phishing – Phishing occurs when a victim receives phony emails, typically purporting to be from financial institutions, requesting personal and identifying information for their records, or an email from a “friend” in a financial bind asking for help. Cyber criminals then use this information from unsuspecting victims for fraudulent purposes.

Skimming – Skimming occurs when identity thieves are able to manipulate credit card machines such as ATMs, by inserting a device that captures the account information of the cardholder which is then used to gain access to the cardholders account and steal money.

Social Security Number Theft – This type of theft typically occurs when a company or organization suffers a data breach, whereby the thieves access the database containing their clients or customers personal identifying information. The thieves then steal the information from the database, and use it to file a fraudulent tax return, open a credit account, or something of a similar nature.

Criminal Identity Theft – This type of theft is not as common as the others, but occurs when a criminal poses as someone else, and gives another person’s information to a police officer or other form of law enforcement agency. This type of identity theft can cause a serious headache for the victim, as their name and information can potentially show up on a criminal background check.

Employment Identity Theft – Employment identity theft occurs when a criminal applies for a job using an unsuspecting victim’s name and social security number. If hired, the employer then begins reporting the income earned under the victim’s social security number, which in turn the Internal Revenue Services expects the victim to pay taxes on said income.