Glossary of Identity Protection Terms

Understanding the world of identity theft is much easier if you're familiar with some commonly used terms. Get the definitions of the most important identity protection terms below.

• Card scanning - a method of identity theft in which a criminal places a special device on a credit card swiping machine or ATM in order to read the cardholder's personal and account data.
• Credit report - a record of your financial accounts and payment history. A credit report can be an integral tool for identity protection, as regularly checking your report will help you spot the red flags of identity theft.
• Dumpster diving - thieves dig through trash in order to find junk mail and other documents with identifying information on them in order to steal an identity. Dumpster diving is one of the reasons why eliminating junk mail is such an important part of identity protection.
• Fraud alert - a flag placed on your accounts that requires creditors to verify that the individual using your name is indeed you. Fraud alerts are a preventive form of identity protection.
• Identity theft - the theft of another person's identifying information (e.g., name, social security number, credit card number, etc.) in order to commit crimes of fraud. Identity theft is most often committed to access the victim's finances, but some thieves also assume stolen identities in order to commit other crimes.
• Identity theft insurance - a policy that reimburses clients in the event they experience losses related to an instance of identity theft. Most identity theft insurance also provides some sort of identity protection as well.
• Pharming - identity thieves redirect Web traffic from a legitimate site to an ersatz look-a-like to dupe consumers into providing their usernames, passwords, and other personal information.
• Phishing - thieves use emails with embedded links claiming to be a legitimate company in order to trick recipients into divulging confidential information. Usually, phishing emails appear to be sent by financial institutions.
• Pretexting - over telephone or email, identity thieves retrieve personal information from consumers by pretending to be a creditor, charity, or other reputable organization. This is one of the many reasons why identity protection protocol asks consumers never to reveal personal information when they're not certain of the company's identity.
• Professional identity protection - a comprehensive identity theft prevention service offered by a professional company. Identity protection usually involves preventive measures against identity theft and assistance with identity theft in the event that it occurs. ID protection services may also include a back-up insurance policy.