Idenity Theft - What Thieves Do With Your Stolen Idenity

Stealing your account information and other personal information is what idenity theft is all about. But once an identity thief steals your info, what does he do with it? There are many different bad things thieves can do with your identity:

First the identity theif will change the billing address on your credit cards. This means the bills will not go to you but to some other address. It can be months before you realize something is wrong.
Then the thief will of course charge up as much as they can before you realize something is amiss.
The thief might open up a bank account in your name. He will then write bad checks against it.
The thief may take out a loan using your name.
The thief might use your name and Social Security number to get government benefits.
The thief might rent an apartment using your name
The thief might try to get medical services using your name.
The thief might use your personal information to police if they get arrested. If they do this, a warrant for your arrest could be issued at a future time.

These are just a few of the terrible things that can result from idenity theft. Actually, you could just let your imagination run wild with all the bad things a thief could do with your identity and you would probably be right with most of them. The best course of action is always to try to prevent it before it happens.