What is the difference between forgery and identity theft?

Forgery ( 470, 473, 475), identity theft ( 530.5), and conspiracy ( 182) are different crimes. Although there may be some overlapping conduct, the statutes are concerned with remedying different wrongs. (People v. Barba (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 214, 225.) Forgery is committed when a person possesses a completed check "with the intent to utter or pass or facilitate the utterance or passage of the same, in order to defraud any person." ( 475, subd. (c).) The crime of identity theft is committed when a person obtains personal identifying information of another and "uses that information for any

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