BLET Property Crimes Practice Test

The correct choice highlights that the identifying information used in identity theft must belong to a living person. This is due to the legal definition of identity theft, which involves wrongfully obtaining and using someone else's personal information, such as their name, Social Security number, or bank account details, typically to commit fraud.

Identity theft targets the information of individuals who are alive because the intent is often to impersonate that person in order to gain access to their resources or to carry out fraudulent activities under their name. Thus, the essence of identity theft hinges on the victim being a living person whose identity can be misappropriated for illicit gains. If the information belonged to someone deceased, it wouldn't typically fall under the same criminal statutes revolving around identity theft, as there wouldn’t be the same potential for fraud against the living individual.

While the other aspects mentioned in the options present interesting considerations about identity and information sharing, they do not capture the fundamental legal criteria that defines identity theft, which is centered on the misuse of a living individual's personal information.