Editing Identity theft (section)

=== Criminal identity theft ===
When a criminal fraudulently identifies themselves to police as another individual at the point of arrest, it is sometimes referred to as "Criminal Identity Theft." In some cases, criminals have previously obtained state-issued identity documents using credentials stolen from others, or have simply presented a [[fake ID]]. Provided the subterfuge works, charges may be placed under the victim's name, letting the criminal off the hook. Victims might only learn of such incidents by chance, for example by receiving a court summons, discovering their driver's licenses are suspended when stopped for minor traffic violations, or through [[background check]]s performed for employment purposes.

It can be difficult for the victim of criminal identity theft to clear their record. The steps required to clear the victim's incorrect [[criminal record]] depend on which jurisdiction the crime occurred and whether the true identity of the criminal can be determined. The victim might need to locate the original arresting officers and prove their own identity by some reliable means such as fingerprinting or DNA testing and may need to go to a court hearing to be cleared of the charges. Obtaining an [[expungement]] of court records may also be required. Authorities might permanently maintain the victim's name as an alias for the criminal's true identity in their criminal records databases. One problem that victims of criminal identity theft may encounter is that various [[data aggregators]] might still have incorrect criminal records in their databases even after court and police records are corrected. Thus a future background check may return the incorrect criminal records.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17g-CrimIdTheft.htm |title=Privacy Rights Clearinghouse |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120921/http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17g-CrimIdTheft.htm |archive-date=21 September 2012 }} - "Fact Sheet 17g: Criminal Identity Theft: What to Do If It Happens to You "</ref> This is just one example of the kinds of impact that may continue to affect the victims of identity theft for some months or even years after the crime, aside from the psychological trauma that being 'cloned' typically engenders.