Unfortunately no, when people commit identity fraud using your ID, you're the one that needs to prove your innocence. In the US for example it's so easy to commit identity fraud, but really hard to get out of the damage someone else may have done to you.
"Identity fraud" or worse, "identity theft" are BS terms made up by the organizations responsible for the actual underlying crime. Example: a criminal gets credit cards issued in your name and your bank screams "Identity Theft!" when this is just good ol' fashioned fraud enabled by their crappy process and antiquated security. The difference is the former is your problem while the latter is all theirs. Plus they get the chance to sell you another service to protect you from their mess. $PROFIT !!!
You mentioned the burden of proof being on the victim of identity theft. Is that applicable to anything besides ones credit report?
If creditors want to get a judgement to garnish wages or seize assets they have to go to court. I wonder if the burden of proof is any different there, or if the parent's defence (everybody has a copy of my identification!) could work at that point?
The damage of identify theft is the damaged credit report, and the fact you now have to explain to every entity you do business with what happened - and hope they believe you. Many won't because it isn't worth the risk to them.
Garnished wages are pretty rare from what I've heard, and yes it rarely gets to that point. It's still a nightmare for many people with real world consequences if it happens to you.
I understand the impact a problem on a credit report can have for most people.
Over the years I've been trying to minimize my dependence on credit reports. It's been frozen for most of a couple decades, and I'd like to keep it that way. I've paid cash for vehicles, use secured credit cards, put down a deposit for my utility service, have a pay as you go phone, rent from people I know, and hope to remain self-employed, or work for people who know me enough to know that I can be trusted. I'd rather not deal with BigCorp. I realize that not everyone wants to or can do these things.
But that left me wondering about what would happen in a trial to get a judgement if someone was able to fraudulently open a line of credit in my name. I'm hoping that a judge would require more than a forged signature to seize my wages/assets. Personally this is what I worry about, not so much my credit report.
It has happened, it is rare though. Also know of a few cases of folks selling peoples houses out from under them by fooling the title company when they were on a long vacation. Realistically, most thieves are far too lazy, and it’s real (and risky) work doing that compared to doing a bunch of credit card fraud.
