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Sarah regularly uses her credit card online. When purchasing clothes from an online shop, she became distracted, and she failed to notice that the site was not secure. Her credit card details were stolen, and the thief has used her credit card to make payments of over $2,000. Sarah was not aware of her victimization until her credit card was refused after a meal at a restaurant.
James uses profiles on several social networking websites to stay in touch with friends. The profiles include many personal details about him, including his date of birth, hometown and contact details. On applying for a loan, he discovered that he had a bad credit rating, although he has always paid his credit card, mortgage and bills on time. He runs a credit check, and discovers that a motor loan has been taken out in his name, although he never applied for it. No repayments have been made on the loan. He eventually realizes that he has been the victim of identity theft, and that the offender used the personal information available on his social networking profile along with other online information about him to apply for the loan.