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Get startedIdentity theft is not a single crime. It is a family of them, from a stranger using your card number to someone working, renting or even getting arrested under your name.
When you live abroad, your details are spread across two countries: banks, universities, landlords, employers and visa offices. That makes it harder to notice when something goes wrong. These 24 types of identity theft show what to watch for, the warning sign for each, and the first thing to do.
College Life, the global club for young internationals, is working with Bitdefender to help moved-abroad 18 to 35s keep their devices, data, money and identity safe while they live their whole lives online in a new country. In line with this mission, Bitdefender is providing College Life Club members with 50% off the first year for young professionals and graduates, and a free-trial option for students. Become a member of College Life Club (free) to get this benefit right now.
Types of Identity Theft Involving Your Money
Financial identity theft is the most common kind people notice, because it shows up on statements and credit reports. USAGov describes identity theft as someone using your personal or financial information without your permission, in its identity theft guide.
So how do you catch these early? By watching your accounts and knowing where your details have leaked. Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection scans the public web and the dark web for your exposed details and sends real-time breach notifications, so you hear about a leak before it turns into fraud.
Existing card fraud
Someone uses your existing debit or credit card details to make purchases, usually online. The details may come from a data breach, a skimmed card or a fake checkout page you typed them into. The first sign is often a small "test" payment you do not recognise, followed by bigger ones. Check your banking app regularly and turn on transaction alerts. If you see a payment you did not make, call your bank on the number on your card straight away and ask for the card to be blocked and replaced. Card payments are often easier to dispute than transfers.
New account fraud
A criminal uses your name, date of birth and ID number to open a new bank account, credit card or phone contract. You may not find out until a debt collector calls or a bill arrives. USAGov lists debt collection calls for accounts you did not open and unfamiliar accounts on your credit report among the main warning signs. If you have a credit history in the US or another country with credit bureaus, check your credit report, and consider a credit freeze if your details have leaked.
Loan and credit fraud
Someone takes out a loan, a buy-now-pay-later plan or a store credit account in your name and never repays it. The debt then follows you, hurting your credit score and your chances of renting or borrowing later. USAGov lists denials of loan applications as one of the warning signs. For internationals planning to stay, rent or work in the US, this can cause real trouble years later. Check your credit report at least once a year and dispute anything you did not open.
Bank account takeover
Instead of opening a new account, the criminal gets into yours. They may use a stolen password, a fake bank call or a SIM swap to receive your login codes. Once inside, they change your contact details and move money out. Warning signs include being locked out, security alerts you did not trigger and new payees you did not add. Call your bank straight away, using the number on your card, and change your online banking password from a clean device.
Payment app takeover
Payment apps link to your card or bank account, so a takeover can drain money quickly. Criminals often get in through a reused password or by tricking you into sharing a login code. Watch for payments you did not send, new linked cards or a changed phone number on the account. Contact the app's support through the app itself, not a number from a message. Turn on the app's own PIN or biometric lock, so an unlocked phone is not enough to send money.
Tax refund fraud
Someone files a tax return in your name to claim a refund before you do. It often comes to light when your real return is rejected because one has already been filed. USAGov notes that in the US, filing the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039, invalidates a fraudulent return filed using your information. Students who have worked on campus or on OPT and have a US Social Security number are exposed. File early, keep your documents safe and report any IRS letter you did not expect.
Money-related theft is the most visible kind. The next group targets official records, which can be harder to fix.
Types of Identity Theft Involving Official Records
Some identity theft has nothing to do with your bank. It uses your identity to deal with employers, governments, hospitals and the police, and the damage can sit quietly in records you rarely check.
So why are internationals especially exposed? Because their documents, such as passports, visas, residence permits and ID numbers, are copied and shared far more often than a local's during a move. Real-time breach notifications from Digital Identity Protection can warn you when an email or document tied to you appears in a new leak.
Employment identity theft
Someone uses your identity number, such as a US Social Security number, to get a job. You may only find out when a tax office says you earned income you never received. It is a known risk for anyone whose number has leaked through a data breach or a fake job application. If you receive tax or income records you do not recognise, contact the tax authority and the official social security office straight away, and keep copies of every letter you receive about it.
Benefits and unemployment fraud
Criminals use stolen identities to claim government benefits, such as unemployment payments. USAGov lists unemployment scams among the identity theft problems it covers. You may receive a letter or tax form about benefits you never claimed. In the US, a Form 1099-G showing unemployment pay you did not get is one sign. Report it to the agency that sent the form and to IdentityTheft.gov, which the FTC runs for reporting identity theft and getting a recovery plan. Keep a copy of every report you make, with dates.
Medical identity theft
Someone uses your name or health insurance details to get medical care, prescriptions or equipment. USAGov lists medical insurance account numbers among the details identity thieves use. Warning signs include bills for treatment you did not receive and unfamiliar entries on your insurance statements. This matters for internationals because student health insurance details are often shared during enrolment. Review every insurance statement, report anything unfamiliar to your insurer and ask for a copy of your medical records if needed. Fixing medical records can take time, so start early.
Passport and visa document misuse
A copy of your passport, visa or residence permit can be used to pass identity checks, open accounts or rent property. These documents are often uploaded to landlords, employers and agencies during a move, sometimes to sites that turn out to be fake. If you think a copy has been misused, contact the issuing authority and, where relevant, your embassy. Keep a list of everywhere you have sent copies, so you know where a leak may have come from. Watermark copies with their purpose so they are harder to reuse.
Criminal identity theft
Someone gives your name or ID to the police when they are stopped or arrested. The record then sits under your identity, which can affect visa applications, background checks and job offers. It is one of the hardest types to spot, because you may only discover it when a check fails. If it happens, contact the police force involved and ask how to prove the record is not yours. Our reporting guide explains which country to file in when your life spans two.
Child and family identity theft
Children's identities are sometimes used because nobody checks their credit for years. USAGov points families to guidance on protecting a child's information from identity theft. For international families, it matters for younger siblings whose documents travel with family visa applications. Keep family documents in a safe place, share them only with official bodies, and check younger relatives' credit status where that is possible, especially in the US. If anything looks wrong, contact the relevant agency on the child's behalf and keep a record of what you sent.
Record-based theft is slow to surface. The next group happens online, where most leaks start.
Types of Identity Theft That Happen Online
Most identity theft today starts with something online: a breach, a fake page, a reused password or a hacked account. The NCSC notes in its breach guidance that criminals use breached information to make phishing messages look legitimate.
So which online types matter most? The ones that give criminals access to your other accounts or let them pretend to be you. A digital footprint view helps here: Digital Identity Protection shows which services still hold your data, including ones you no longer use, so you know which accounts to lock down first.
Email account takeover
Your email account is the master key to almost everything else, because most password resets go there. If a criminal gets in, they can reset your bank, shopping and social media passwords one by one. Warning signs include password-reset emails you did not request, forwarding rules you did not set up and being logged out. Change the password from a clean device and turn on two-step login; our guide to email takeover protection shows how. Then check every account that resets through that inbox.
Social media impersonation
Someone creates a fake profile using your name and photos, then messages your friends for money or uses the account to scam others. It can also damage your reputation with employers who search for you. Ask friends to report the fake account, and report it to the platform using its impersonation route. Keep screenshots, warn your contacts not to trust messages from it, and make your real profile private so your photos are harder to copy. Most platforms act faster when several people report the same account.
Synthetic identity theft
Synthetic identity theft mixes real and fake details, for example your real identity number with a made-up name and address, to create a new identity. Because it is not a perfect copy of you, it can go unnoticed for a long time. It often surfaces as credit or tax problems tied to your number. Check your credit report where you can, and watch for tax or benefit letters you did not expect. Report anything strange to the relevant authority. Early checks make it far easier to untangle.
SIM swap fraud
A criminal persuades your mobile network to move your phone number to their SIM, so your login codes and calls go to them. The FBI received 982 SIM swap complaints in 2024, according to its 2024 report. The first sign is often your phone losing signal for no clear reason. Call your network straight away, set a PIN or password on your mobile account, and use an authenticator app instead of text codes where possible. Tell your bank too, since its codes may have gone to the criminal.
Shopping account takeover
Online shopping accounts often store your card, address and order history. A takeover lets someone order goods to a different address using your saved card. Warning signs include order confirmations you did not place and changes to your delivery address. Remove saved cards from accounts you rarely use, use a unique password for each shop and check your bank statements after big shopping events like holiday sales. If an order was placed, contact the shop through its official site to cancel it and secure the account.
Subscription and account sign-ups
Your email or phone number may be used to sign up for services, subscriptions or dating sites you never joined. Sometimes it is spam; sometimes it is a step towards a bigger fraud, such as building a fake profile. Welcome emails from services you never used are the clue. Reply to nothing, but log into the service directly if a real account was created in your name, and ask for it to be closed. Change the password on your email if many of these arrive at once, since it may mean your address is being tested.
Online theft spreads fast but is often caught by alerts. The last group starts offline, with the oldest tricks.
Types of Identity Theft That Start Offline
Not all identity theft starts on a screen. USAGov lists stolen wallets, trash, ATM skimmers and mail among the ways criminals get personal information.
So what offline habits matter most? Guarding your wallet, your mail and your documents, especially during a move when everything is in boxes.
Stolen wallet or passport
A stolen wallet gives a criminal your cards and often your ID. A stolen passport can be used to pass identity checks. Report a lost or stolen passport to the issuing authority and your embassy straight away, and block cards with your bank. USAGov advises storing personal documents, including a Social Security card, in a safe place rather than carrying them in your wallet. Keep photos of your documents in an encrypted folder, not your camera roll. A police report number helps when you replace documents.
Mail theft
Bank letters, new cards and tax documents arriving by post are valuable to criminals, especially in shared buildings with open mailboxes. USAGov lists mail that stops coming or goes missing among the warning signs of identity theft. Collect your mail every day, and ask a friend to hold it, or use your post office's hold service, when you are away. Switch to paperless statements where you can, and tell your bank when you move. Ask your bank to send new cards to a branch if your mailbox is not secure.
Card skimming
Skimmers are devices hidden on cash machines, card readers or fuel pumps that copy your card details. USAGov mentions skimmers at ATMs, cash registers and fuel pumps among the ways card data is stolen. Check the card slot for anything loose or bulky, cover the keypad when you type your PIN, and use cash machines inside bank branches when you can. Contactless and phone payments avoid the card slot entirely. If a machine looks tampered with, walk away and tell the bank or shop.
Bin diving
Criminals can find bank statements, tax forms and letters in recycling and rubbish bins. USAGov lists going through trash for bank statements or tax documents as one way identity theft happens. Before you throw away anything with your name, address, account numbers or ID numbers, shred it or tear it up thoroughly. This matters most when you move out, because a whole year of paperwork often goes in one bag. Ask flatmates to do the same with shared post, since letters for former tenants carry details too.
Rental application fraud
Housing applications ask for passports, payslips, bank statements and references. A fake landlord or agent can collect all of that for an application that never existed, then use it elsewhere. Share documents only after you have verified the landlord or agency, and use watermarks such as "for rental application at [address] only" on copies. Our guide to rental fraud shows the wider pattern to watch for. If you think your documents were collected by a fake landlord, watch your accounts closely for the next few months.
Shoulder surfing
Someone watches you type your PIN, passcode or password in a shop, on a train or in a library. Combined with a stolen card or phone, it gives them what they need. Shield the keypad, use face or fingerprint unlock in public and be aware of who is close behind you at cash machines. If you think someone saw your PIN, change it at your bank's machine or in your banking app. Never write your PIN down or keep it with your card.
Offline theft is old-fashioned but still effective. Simple habits block most of it.
Conclusion
These types of identity theft range from a skimmed card to a criminal record in your name, but they share a pattern: someone uses your details without permission, and you find out later than you would like. Watching your accounts, guarding your documents and knowing where your details have leaked catch most of them early.
If you see a warning sign, act on it the same day: call your bank, report it to the right authority and secure your email first. The purpose of this guide was to help you keep your devices, data, money and identity safe while you live your whole life online in a new country. To help you on this journey, College Life has partnered with Bitdefender to make your life easier. Join College Life Club for free and start taking advantage of this today.
FAQ
What are the most common types of identity theft?
Card fraud, new account fraud, email and bank account takeovers, and tax-related identity theft are among the most common. Online types, such as account takeovers after a data breach, are common because so much personal data now leaks online.
What is criminal identity theft?
Criminal identity theft is when someone gives your name or ID to the police during an arrest or stop. The record then appears under your identity and can affect background checks, visa applications and jobs. Contact the police force involved to start clearing it.
What is synthetic identity theft?
It is when criminals combine real details, such as your identity number, with fake ones to create a new identity. Because it does not fully match you, it can go unnoticed for years, often surfacing as credit or tax problems.
What are the warning signs of identity theft?
USAGov lists bills for things you did not buy, debt collection calls for accounts you did not open, unfamiliar accounts on your credit report, loan denials and missing mail. Login alerts you did not trigger and password-reset emails are common online signs.
What should I do first if my identity is stolen?
Contact your bank and card providers to block cards and accounts, secure your email from a clean device, and report it. In the US, IdentityTheft.gov creates a report and recovery plan; elsewhere, report to your local police and national fraud reporting service.