Identity theft is at an all time high as a result of the digital age of paperless transactions and online databases. Why would anyone want to steal someone’s identity? Some people think it is just for the purpose of starting fresh or getting away from their previous life, but the vast majority of identity thieves do it for money. If they have your personal identity information they can also retrieve your banking information, credit card numbers, and more. Those who are using other identities are usually using many identities for the purpose of stealing money from all of them, perhaps by withdrawing funds from their bank or setting up a credit card in their name. The scary thing about identity theft is that the violators have little care that they may be taking everything another individual owns as well as destroying their credit for a number of years. If a victim is unable to detect identity theft for over six months, it can do severe financial damage. You can of course investigate your own credit reports and accounts regularly, or you can pay for a credit monitoring service to investigate for you.