One of the most common and dangerous forms of computer fraud are identity fraud and identity theft. Most people think of the two as the same, but they are actually different forms of fraud.

Identity fraud simply means the criminal assuming a false identity (real or fictitious) to deceive the prospective victim, and in fact most computer crime involves this kind of identity fraud.

Identity theft, on the other hand, involves criminals using a victim’s identity to defraud a third party.

One of the most frequently used methods of identity theft is known as "phishing." The goal of phishing scams is to deceive unassuming victims into giving out their personal sensitive information such as full names, addresses, social security numbers, and online banking user names and passwords.

One common example is the victim being contacted via email by what appears to be a respectable businessperson or a legitimate bank, asking to help facilitate an important transaction in exchange for financial gain, or “confirm” the user’s personal information because potentially fraudulent activities were observed on their bank accounts. The email often contains a link to a genuine-looking website, and the personal information that the victim submits gets into the hands of the criminal.

Given that identity theft is one of the most widespread and dangerous forms of computer fraud, there are many methods to prevent such abuse, including anti-phishing software and identity fraud protection and insurance services.