This is when one person’s identity is used by another. The thief can do all kinds of illegal activities in the stolen person’s name, causing the first person to have to deal with many consequences as a result. Identity theft includes financial, criminal, and business/commercial identity theft, as well as identity cloning.

Financial identity theft includes stealing the credit cards and other financial information of a person so that the thief can obtain goods and services without paying for them, writing bad checks, or obtaining a loan in the first person’s name.

Criminal identity theft is when a thief simply begins living with the stolen person’s identity, and business/commercial identity theft is the use of another’s business to get credit. Identity cloning is when the thief takes on another’s identity as a way to avoid being arrested for past crimes, because they are working illegally in a foreign country, or because they are avoiding creditors.

If you have been charged or are being investigated with the unauthorized use of another person's identity, call the criminal defense law offices of Altman and Altman and speak to an experienced Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer.

To learn more about immigration consequences of being charged with identity theft, visit this page.