BusinessDictionary.com defines the term “synthetic” as “Fabricated by synthesis and not produced naturally or organically.” What does this have to do with identify theft? A lot, actually.

THE PROBLEM OF SYNTHETIC IDENTITY THEFT

Traditionally, identity theft involves a fraudster assuming the identity of another person. The thief pretends to be someone else and can be exposed in several ways, including if the victims find out about unauthorized credit applications in their name or if they notice unauthorized credit purchases on their credit cards. Synthetic identity theft, however, is much more insidious and harder to catch.