Aiden Turner is a victim of identity theft. It’s five months since his driver's licence details were stolen in a data breach and he’s still trying to deal with the consequences. 

The lasting impact has taken him by surprise, extending far beyond the loss of money. He’s sharing his story to caution others about how quickly identity fraud can spiral out of control. 

“My troubles started in July when I received an email from an international money transfer service I’d used a few times previously”, explains Aiden. “They told me my driver's licence details had been stolen in a data breach.”

When Aiden went to check his credit report, he was dismayed to find that a fraudster had already taken out a credit card in his name with a $17,000 credit limit. His address was no longer his own - the fraudster had managed to change that too. This had all happened two months prior, in May, leaving Aiden to wonder what other damage the fraudster might have done in the time before he was even aware his personal details were stolen.

Worse still, Aiden has plans to apply for a mortgage on his investment property. He’s worried the fraudulent activity could derail all his arrangements. “This could mean getting less credit, or worse, not getting approved at all”, he says. 

The administrative impact of identity theft

Beyond the financial strain, the consequences of identity theft have hit Aiden hard, particularly the administrative burden of cleaning up the mess left by the fraudster.

“After I’d filed a report with ID Care, I rang the lender who’d approved the credit card to let them know I was an identity theft victim”, says Aiden. “I told them that a fraudulent account had been opened in my name and it needed to be closed. They could give me no clear answers about how the account was approved but I suspect they never verified the address on the licence so the fraudster got away with it.”

Aiden’s next task was contacting the credit bureaus to ask for a ban on his credit report. He knew that while the ban was in force, any applications for credit would require the lender to have to seek written permission to view his credit report.

Applying for a new driver's licence is next on his to-do list and he’s only halfway through this job. “I have to provide written police evidence of the fraud, sit on hold with government departments, fill out forms and front-up in person with my identity documents. I don’t have the time needed for all the hoops I have to jump through”, he says.

“The amount of time I’ve had to spend getting everything back in order - it’s overwhelming”, Aiden explains. “Just getting the lender to remove the fraudulent credit card from my credit report has been a herculean effort. And there’s still so much on my to-do list like filing a fraudulent claim with the government so they can take action against the lender.” 

The emotional consequences of identity theft

Many victims of identity theft experience emotional consequences, including feelings of worry, violation and anger. Aiden is no different, especially as he doesn’t know how much exposure he’s liable for. 

“Could this fraudster access my utility or mobile phone accounts?”, wonders Aiden. “The thought that someone else has a piece of my personal information in their hands - it’s terrifying.”

Aiden is especially worried about the credit application he must soon lodge for a mortgage on his investment property. “The construction on my property might get delayed, I won’t be able to get renters into my apartment as quickly as I’d hoped, and that’ll impact my tax depreciation. The ripple effects are huge.”

What could have been different

One of the most frustrating consequences of identity theft for Aiden is that it could have been avoided. Before this happened, he had a credit and identity monitoring subscription, but had let it lapse. 

“If I’d had alerts in place, I would have known as soon as a change was made to my credit report”, he says. “Instead I found out about the fraud two months after the fact.”

Credit alerts would have notified Aiden as soon as the fraudster applied for the credit card in May. He could have acted quickly to dispute the change and prevent it from spiralling into a bigger issue. “Just one alert, that’s all it would have taken to get ahead of this”, he adds.

Lingering concerns

Among the long-term consequences of identity theft, Aiden worries that his information is circulating on the dark web, where it could be bought and sold to other fraudsters and used to commit more fraud in the future. 

“If just one piece of my identity - my drivers licence number - can be used to open a credit card, who knows what else they can do.”

With just a single piece of personal data, fraudsters can exploit other sources to construct false profiles or replica identities. This enables them to impersonate genuine people to bypass identity verification processes.

Had Aiden maintained his credit and identity subscription, not only would he have been alerted to changes in his credit report, but he would also have been notified if his information appeared on the dark web or social media platforms. This extra layer of protection could have saved him many sleepless nights worrying about how exposed he might be.

Don’t wait for the consequences of identity fraud to disrupt your life, stay protected with Equifax credit and identity monitoring.

Please note: the real name of the individual in this article has been changed to protect their privacy.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstance before acting on it, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a finance professional such as an adviser.