Understanding the Categories of Theft.

Theft, in it's simplest form, is larceny, or taking someone's personal property without their consent. This applies to personal theft and even retail theft, also referred to as shoplifting. These are generally misdemeanor crimes, though can heavily scale depending on the amount stolen both in quantity and value.

As it scales that way, it can be classified as petit theft and then grand theft, which is the theft of extremely valuable goods such as vehicles (grand theft auto). 

There is also robbery where a person threatens or uses force to take money or goods. Burglary is breaking into a property to take goods. However, you can also steal money through means such as embezzlement or fraud, in which you intentionally falsify documents to withhold or transfer funds to yourself that do not belong to you.

Finally, there's identity theft, in which a person illegally obtains identifying information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, or other identifying information that allows them access to your personal finances or records and uses them for their own purpose.