Is there a difference between identity theft and traditional credit card fraud?
Gallagher: The organizations dealing with these crimes are also struggling with these important distinctions. So when people commonly use the term “privacy” or “identity theft,” the issue might be fraud, it might be identity theft or it might be privacy. The reality is bleeding through consumers. They cannot make the distinctions, and therefore it causes the problem to even feel greater than it really is. Moritz: There is an important distinction between identity and credit card theft. If you lose your credit card information and somebody inappropriately uses your credit card, they haven’t really committed identity theft. However, if someone has successfully established a consumer credit relationship in your name, that means that they have successfully obtained enough of your personal identifying information to assume your identity. It’s a very important distinction and one that the media has not done a good job of explaining. Kelly: The guidance from regulators does draw the distincti
