The phone rings and a collection agency demands that you pay an overdue account for goods that you never ordered. The supermarket refuses your cheque because you have a history of bounced cheques. But you have always paid your bills on time - so what has happened?

There are three types of identity theft:

• Account takeover - occurs when a thief acquires your existing credit account information and purchases products and services using either the actual credit card or simply the account number. The victim learns about the crime when the statement arrives, although it's surprising how many people don't scrutinise the entries on the statements.
  
  
• Application fraud - sometimes called "true name fraud" - here the thief uses NI numbers and other identifying information to open new accounts in the victim's name. Victims are not likely to learn of the crime for some time because the monthly statements are mailed to an address used by the imposter.
  
  
• Court appearances - in some cases the imposter will appear in court for traffic or other offences and plead guilty without the victim being aware of the event. This then goes on the record and may not be discovered by the victim for years, or never discovered.
  
  

Even though the victim may not be saddled with paying their imposter's bills, they are often left with a bad credit rating and then spend months and even years regaining their financial health. In the meantime they have difficulty getting credit, obtaining loans or mortgages, renting property or even getting a job. Victims of identity theft receive little help from the authorities as they attempt to untangle the web of deception that has allowed the fraudster to impersonate them.

And perhaps worst of all, the burden of clearing ones name within the criminal justice system lies primarily on the victim. The victim must act swiftly and assertively to minimise the damage.