Identity Theft
Categories: Ethics/Morals, Trusts and Estates
If someone steals some part of your identity (i.e., pretends to be you by using your name, contact information, PIN numbers, credit card... the list goes on), that's identity theft. It's almost always done for financial reasons—the person wants to steal money from your account or charge things to your credit card so they don't have to pay for them—and it's very, very, illegal.
Depending on the severity, identity theft can range anywhere from pain in the butt to a life-ruining.
Example
You buy a prom dress from a website called scampromdresses.com (smart move) and you enter your credit card information, contact information, and name. Your prom dress never arrives. But, a month later you get a credit card bill for $4,000.
Turns out, someone used your credit card information to buy 4G worth of games. Basically, the fine folks at scampromdresses.com scooped your credit card information and used it to go on a shopping spree. The credit card company thinks it's you until you call them and tell them what happened.