Identify Theft by Driver's License
A lot of people who haven't experienced identity theft closehand still think it's just someone using someone else's credit card numbers stolen from an online transaction in order to buy online porn or expensive electronic toys. But that sort of simple identity theft is rapidly becoming less common, largely because of the precautions banks and websites have put in place to protect themselves from being left holding the bag as a result of credit card fraud. Identity thieves are finding innumerable other ways to take advantage of honest people's good names.
A lot of current identity theft involves stealing personal information in order to create a false identity. Sometimes it is sophisticated, involving the systematic creation of false identity documents in order to rent an apartment, get utilities, and open bank accounts, effectively creating an entire life for themselves. But it can be as simple as stealing a common identity document that you regularly carry with you, and really can't leave in a secure location if you want to drive a car or truck.
A lost or stolen driver's license is a very common way for people to have their identity stolen. If it is not quickly reported to the appropriate authorities, it is very easy for the identity thief to completely ruin the person's life. Very often, someone will alter the stolen driver's license so that the photograph on it looks like them. A sufficiently skilled person can do this alteration well enough that it is almost undetectable to a cursory examination, even with the sophisticated anti-fraud elements that many states have begun including in their licenses.
A person who is willing to go through this much trouble is almost always someone already in trouble with the law. Many of these criminals are looking for a fast way out and hope to thus disappear and relocate under your name. Since this process rarely involves their turning over a new leaf and living a law-abiding life, they typically will commit further crimes while using your stolen identity.
Where you're living in the open as a law-abiding citizen, it's very likely that the police will come to arrest you, not knowing that you've been the victim of an identity thief. The next thing you know you're in jail, desperately trying to prove your own innocence. It can be extremely difficult to prove that you are not the same person as the criminal who has committed further crimes while using your identity, and while you're in jail, you'll be viewed as easy prey by the criminals with which you'll probably be sharing a cell.
Even after you are able to get yourself out on bail, you'll be spending thousands of dollars of legal fees, not to mention your time and emotional energy, straightening out the mess the identity thief has made of your life. Being a defendant in criminal court is never pleasant, even when you know you're innocent, and even after you have your acquittal in hand, there's always the risk that the real criminal will go and commit more crimes with your identity and you'll have to go through the same mess all over again.
So make sure to keep close track of your driver's license. If you need to take it out of your wallet or pocketbook in order to complete a transaction (say, an ID check for a credit card transaction or bar entry), make sure it gets safely back in its place. And if your wallet or purse gets stolen, make sure that a visit to your state motor vehicle agency is on the top of your priorities, right alongside getting your credit cards cancelled.
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