Identity theft crimes
A quick skim through the financial headlines, in any country the world, will highlight the massive increase in the number of identity theft crimes across the world. These will differ from simple birth certificate information through to passports and ultimately a full profile of your life including home address, date of birth, employment history, etc. The number of crimes which can be committed using somebody else's identification information are endless and include loans, mortgages and credit cards to name but a few.
In some instances we have actually seen homes transferred from their rightful owners to criminal third parties using fraudulently obtained documentation and by the time they are rumbled they will have taken out mortgages or possibly sold the home on. Credit card fraud is also a major problem in the UK, especially for services which do not require the user to be physically present.
Conclusion
Even though there are various credit card fraud detection systems now in place it is almost impossible to totally stamp out credit card fraud, and many other instances of fraud, due to their complexity and the fact that the criminal gangs seem to be one step ahead of the authorities!