In one sentence: A synthetic identity is a made-up person built from a mix of personal details, such as a name, a date of birth and an ID number.
Why it matters: A group of fraud experts brought together by the US Federal Reserve defines synthetic identity fraud as using a combination of personal details to make up a person to get money or services. Checking your credit report is one way to spot accounts you do not know.
One thing to do: Read your credit report once this week and look for accounts or addresses you do not recognize.
Related terms: identity theft, credit report, data breach
Checked: 25 Oct 2026.
