Which term describes the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person’s private identifying information?

• A. Identity theft
• B. Phishing
• C. Data breach
• D. Spoofing

Answer: (A)

Identifying the term for fraudulent acquisition and use of someone’s private identifying information. Identity theft describes the act of obtaining another person’s personal identifiers—like a Social Security number, credit card details, or login credentials—and using them to commit fraud. This can include opening new credit accounts, making purchases, or draining funds in the victim’s name.

Phishing involves tricking someone into revealing information, but it’s a method used to steal data rather than the act of stealing and using the data itself. A data breach is a security incident where data is exposed or stolen from an organization, which may enable identity theft but is not the fraudulent use carried out by the thief. Spoofing is impersonation in communications to deceive, another tactic, not the specific crime of misusing someone else’s private information.