I've recently been the victim of identity theft, where someone has used my information (including my Social Security, somehow) to open up a handful of fraudulent checking accounts. I have already gone through the necessary steps to hopefully stem this issue (FTC Identity Theft report, police report, credit freeze, changed passwords, etc.).
I was alerted to this fact a couple of different ways. First, I got several bank cards mailed to my home address. I also got one letter congratulating me on opening an account and which included the account information. Finally, another bank emailed me to tell me that my account email address had changed to one I don't recognize. Of course, I called to close each of these accounts as soon as they came in.
What I was wondering is how does this sort of scam work? So far, it seems like all the things that someone would need to maliciously use my name (i.e., the bank cards and account information) was sent directly to me. Unless someone planned on camping out at my mailbox every day to snatch my mail, which I would surely notice, this doesn't seem like a fruitful exercise.