identity theft

noun

: the illegal use of someone else's personal information (such as a Social Security number) especially in order to obtain money or credit

Examples of identity theft in a Sentence

How can we protect ourselves against identity theft?

Recent Examples on the Web Whether those services are useful is open to question — after a 2017 data breach at the credit reporting firm Equifax exposed the personal data of 143 million Americans, the identity theft service LifeLock trumpeted its protective services (at $29.99 a month). —

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2024 The Allworth Advice is that putting either in place to help prevent identity theft is better than nothing. —

Amy Wagner and Steve Hruby, The Enquirer, 31 July 2024 The charges against Santos include wire fraud, unemployment fraud, aggravated identity theft and lying to the Federal Election Commission. —

Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 19 July 2024 Overwhelmed users might either take offers of faux assistance that lead to identity theft, or throw away money on bogus solutions to this problem. —

Richard Forno, The Conversation, 19 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for identity theft

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'identity theft.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of identity theft was in 1964

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Identity theft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identity%20theft. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.

Copy Citation