Most people think identity theft means someone gets into a bank account or starts charging things to a credit card you already use.But there is another kind of identity theft that can be much harder to spot.
A criminal can use your name, Social Security number, birthdate or other personal information to open a brand-new account in your name.And this problem is growing fast.
Javelin Strategy & Research found that the number of new-account fraud victims jumped 31% in 2025, rising from 4.2 million to 5.4 million.That was the sharpest increase among the fraud types Javelin tracked.The fraudulent account could be a credit card sent to an address you have never lived at.
It could be a phone or utility account with a company you have never used.Someone could even try to open a buy now, pay later account using your identity.
That is what makes this kind of fraud so sneaky.The criminal may never touch an account you already monitor, so there may be no suspicious charge staring back at you from your bank statement.
You may find out only when a strange bill arrives, a lender checks your credit, a debt collector calls or you spot an account that clearly does not belong to you.The good news is there are ways to look for those clues before the problem gets even bigger.Missed CyberGuy LIVE? Watch the Get Better Healthcare With AI replayOur free CyberGuy LIVE class Get Better Healthcare With AI has ended, but you can still watch the full replay.
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