Well quite a lot according to some sources. I found a Child Identity Theft Education Kit that you may find useful. I am looking around for more on this subject. I have not heard that there is so much of a problem here in the Nordics, but in the United States there seems to be quite significant, and is growing because a child’s identity is a ‘clean-slate’ and perfect target for identity fraud.
Day: 15 July 2014
So how does one use a stolen identity in Sweden?
Well the identity-thief collects the ID information of an unsuspecting person, previous articles on this blog give a background on how easy it is to steal a Swedish resident’s personal ID.
One way is that the identity thief then goes on line, and orders a fraudulent ID card and/or a fake passport.
Hence since the personal number, a vital specific identification number used in Sweden to identify an individual is correct but the photo on the ID card or passport is that of the identity thief, the identity thief can go on a shopping spree! Easiest is to buy electronic goods on credit with a small down payment (avbetalning). The real identity owner gets to foot the rest of the bill. It’s easy to find your address online in hitta.se. A shop assistant would feel that the details are correct and process the transaction.
So if you thought identity theft was purely about fraudulent use of your credit card, for which normally the bank foots the bill… then you could have an unpleasant surprise in store…
Money Laundering and Identity
An interesting article on the fruitless efforts to control money laundering and how identity control could be the answer.