How to protect yourself

Identity theft has become the fastest growing crime nowadays.

Identity theft has become an increasingly common and widespread crime overseas. It is also on the rise in New Zealand.
Identity theft occurs when a criminal uses another person's personal information to take on that person's identity. This mainly involves stealing personal details to commit theft or fraud. (link)

Despite it is actually rare in New Zealand compared to the USA, it is still important to protect ourselves.

One of the most common forms of credit fraud is committed by ‘stealing’ the identity of another individual. Someone obtains your identity details and uses them to obtain credit for themselves, leaving you with the potential liability for this debt, a damaged credit reputation and the inconvenience of amending your credit file. (link)