---
title: "What is synthetic identity theft and is it prosecuted differently?"
description: "A synthetic identity is a constructed persona built from a real piece of identifying information - most commonly a Social Security number belonging to a child, deceased person, or immigrant who has..."
url: https://bankandmunns.com/faq-items/what-is-synthetic-identity-theft-and-is-it-prosecuted-differently/
date: 2026-04-22
modified: 2026-04-22
author: "Bank and Munns"
type: avada_faq
lang: en
---

# What is synthetic identity theft and is it prosecuted differently?

A synthetic identity is a constructed persona built from a real piece of identifying information - most commonly a Social Security number belonging to a child, deceased person, or immigrant who has not yet used their number for credit - paired with a fabricated name, address, and date of birth. Fraudsters use synthetics to build credit profiles from scratch, then "bust out" by maxing the lines. Federal prosecutors are very aggressive because the Secret Service and FBI treat synthetics as a priority. Legally, these cases have real proof problems: the federal statute requires the "means of identification of another person," and *Flores-Figueroa* requires that the defendant knowingly used the identification of a real person. If you thought the identity was fabricated, the knowledge element is in dispute.