What is Identity Theft?
Did you know that the FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year? That means it's increasingly likely that you—or someone you know—may have experienced some form of identity theft. But what exactly is it? And how do thieves pull off these especially personal crimes?
It's pretty simple to define, really
Identity theft is when someone uses your personally identifying information—name, Social Security number, credit card number—without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Still, the crime takes many forms. ID thieves may do anything from renting a house to getting a credit card to establishing a phone account in your name. And then, you may not even find out about the crime until you review your credit card statement or credit report and see charges you didn't make. (Or, even worse, until a debt collector contacts you.)
ID theft is serious business
It's hard to measure the costs of identity theft directly, but's it's almost always a very serious situation. While a few lucky victims can resolve their problems quickly, others spend hundreds of dollars and many days repairing the damage to their good names—and their credit records. It gets even worse than that; some victims of ID theft may be denied job opportunities or loans for homes, educations and cars due to the negative information on their credit reports. In the most extreme cases, victims have even been arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
So, how do thieves steal an identity, anyway?
Identity theft always starts with the acquisition and misuse of personally identifying information—your name, Social Security number, credit card numbers or other financial account information. To an ID thief, this information is as good as gold.
Again, the crime takes many forms—and new ones are popping up all the time—but successful identity thieves use lots of different ways to access your information, including:
Dumpster Diving
Rummaging through trash looking for bills or other paper including personal information.
Skimming
Stealing credit/debit card numbers by using a special device when processing your card.
Phishing
Pretending to be financial institutions or companies and sending spam or pop-up messages to trick you into revealing personal information.
Changing Your Address
Diverting your billing statements to a new location via a Change of Address form.
"Traditional" Stealing
Stealing wallets and purses, mail, personnel records, you name it—especially vulnerable are band and credit card statements, pre-approved credit card offers, new checks or tax information.
Pretexting
Using false pretenses to get your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies and other sources.
As you can see, identity thieves will continue to go to great lengths to get their criminal fingers on your personal information, often right out from under your nose, whether you know it or not. The key for YOU is to arm yourself with as much information as possible on how to protect yourself—and beat identity thieves to the punch.
On the web:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/about-identity-theft.html#Whatisidentitytheft
Identity Theft Protection Service: