Identity Theft And You

Fight Identity Theft: Stop Them Before They Find You

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:20:01 +0000

While you may not need to physically chain up your computer to protect yourself from identity theft, the fight against identity theft is becoming stronger, while, at the same time, the rate of such crimes is also increasing. A new type of internet piracy has surfaced in the form of phishing, which means internet pirates are fishing for personal information such as account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers as well as other bits of confidential information. In the fight against identity theft, one must ensure not to provide personal information when replying to unsolicited requests, and not provide passwords over the phone or when replying to unsolicited internet requests. In the fight against identity theft, one should also take care not to click links contained in emails that are of dubious nature as it could contain a virus that would contaminate your computer.

Keep Personal Information Away From Unauthorized Persons

Fight identity theft by not being intimidated by callers or emails that warn of severe consequences if one does not respond immediately and, need to provide personal information. In case one is certain of the identity of the contact, it is advisable to visit their website by typing in their website address rather than clicking on a link contained in their email. You can also fight identity theft by acting immediately on realizing that you have become a victim of identity theft and, place fraud alerts on your credit files as well alert financial institutions and, also monitor your account statements by giving them careful scrutiny. In case you receive suspicious emails or phone calls, you should get in touch with the Federal Trade Commission over the internet or call them directly. They can help alert law enforcement agencies and, get on the trail of the identity thieves.

With the widening spectrum of identity thefts that are believed to be affecting one in every ten Americans, the need to fight identity thefts is becoming more urgent than ever before. In this continuing fight against identity theft, one should pay special attention to old documents such as paid bills, bank statements as also receipts and, either store them safely or, shred them before trashing them.

In case of a change of address, ensure that your bank and utility companies are notified since wrongly sent mail could present an opportunity to fraudsters. Also ensure that accounts that are not required or when one stops using a particular credit card, that these are closed and should not be lying dormant. While fighting identity theft, keep you’re PIN and password safe and, they should be easy to remember and, not be written down on scraps of paper or kept in a wallet or purse from where they may get lost or be stolen.

The fight against identity theft affects everyone and, with proper care and, even though one cannot be 100 percent secure, it will reduce the risk of becoming a victim and, will also make the life of fraudsters that much more difficult. It may mean that they will need to look elsewhere and look for other easier game.

fighting identity theft, identity fraud, identity theft, identity theft prevention, online identity theft, phishing, social security information

Related Entries

Can You Stop Identity Theft Dead In It's Tracks?

admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:54:31 +0000

There are few things worse in life than waking up one day to find that your identity is not just your own, in fact, someone else has decided they want to be you as well. They have stolen your identity and intend to make the most of it, to your own detriment. The best defense against identity theft is to know what you can do to prevent it in the first place. You are never really, out of the woods, but you can take steps that will help you prevent and catch identity theft, if it were to occur.

One great way to start protecting yourself is with LifeLock. LifeLock is a revolutionary program that helps protect you, your name, and your social security number from identity thieves. How does this work? Well, essentially the program is designed to work with your credit report. We all know that when you (or someone pretending to be you) apply for any type of credit, the credit bureaus will be the first ones contacted to see where your credit currently stands. LifeLock contacts the credit bureaus and puts your information on "Fraud Alert". From then on, every ninety days, the program continues to do put your credit report on fraud alert.

The program works, because it keeps on top of things. It will make requests, on your behalf, to remove your name from lists such as junk mail or pre-approved credit card applications. If these things are not arriving in your mailbox, you are reducing your chance of identity theft dramatically. Additionally, you will receive a free, yearly credit report right to your mailbox. This allows you to monitor your report for any odd instances and report them immediately. Now the best part, besides the fact that they help you protect yourself, is that all of this is backed by a $1,000,000 guarantee. If, while on the program, your identity were to be stolen, they will help you recover what you have lost and put your credit back on the right track. This means the best lawyers, case managers, accountants, and investigators. What could be better?

If a program like LifeLock is not for you, there are still some things you can do to help reduce your chances of becoming an identity theft victim. Even if you are on LifeLock, you still need to take steps to protect your information.

1. Protect Your Mail: Incoming and Outgoing, keep track of it. Lock your mailbox or ensure that someone is picking up your mail for you, if you are to be away.

2. Protect Yourself Online: Use software programs to protect yourself from viruses and spyware. Shop with websites that are secure and that you trust. Watch for phishers or fake websites designed to get your information, and make sure that you use encryption for wireless internet.

3. Protect Your Garbage: Make sure that you properly dispose of your important documents. This means shred or burn items such as paycheck stubs, bills, tax related forms, expired credit cards, expired visa, expired passport, voided checks, canceled checks, ATM receipts, credit card offers, and statements.

4. Don't Give Away Your Social Security Number

5. Report a Credit Card that has been Lost or Stolen

6. Be Leery of Telephone Calls

7. Always carefully look over your bank statements

8. Always carefully look over your credit card statements

9. Always carefully look over your bills

10.Check Credit Reports at least Yearly

11.Safeguard your ATM Pin Number

By knowing how to protect yourself, you can stop identity theft right in its tracks.

how to protect your identity, protect your identity, how to protect your identity, protect your identity

credit reports, how to protect your identity, identity theft, identity theft prevention, identity thieves, internet identity theft, life lock, social security identity theft, social security number

Related Entries

Identity Theft Statistics

admin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:29:12 +0000

Millions of Americans have their identity stolen and this is only part of the crime. These same Americans are victimized through numerous means of financial fraud. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) states that over 27 million citizens of this country were victims of identity theft in the last 5 years. According to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the number of victims will increase by 500,000-700,000 each year. Identity theft has increased by 79% from the year 2002 to 2003.

The “Identity Rehab” website states that every 79 seconds an identity is stolen in this country. The Bureau of Justice conducted a National Crime Victimization Survey in 2004 with the following results:

• 3 in 10 households experiencing identity theft discovered they were victims by missing money or unknown account charges.
• 1 in 4 households experiencing identity theft discovered they were victims when contacted by a credit bureau.
• Approximately 2/3 of households experiencing identity theft reported some type of monetary loss.

A more recent survey noted by “Identity Rehab” found that 85% of identity theft victims found out when they were denied credit. It was also reported that 28% of identity theft was due to a lost or stolen credit card.

The FBI has estimated that the average person takes 12 months to realize that they have been victimized by identity theft and then another 175 hours on average to clear their name. According to the FTC, it costs victims an average of $1,500 just to restore their good name. The average victim sustains a loss of $1,200 and 1 in 5 people lose over $5,000. The average business loses over $10,000. A recent survey conducted by an insurance company found that 30% of identity theft crime occurred on the internet.
Identity theft is the fastest growing “white collar” crime in the United States today. Unfortunately, the average arrest rate is under 5%, making this one of the least convicted crimes.

credit reports, identity rehab, identity theft, internet identity theft, online identity theft

Related Entries

Email Identity Theft - Guarding Your Web Words

admin — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 01:31:59 +0000

Unlike the locked up laptop on the right, it is harder to prevent your email identity from being stolen. Email identity theft involves the fraudulent use of your email address for phishing or spamming. The usual victim of email identity theft is a commercial enterprise. Email identity theft is perpetrated for two purposes - to convince others that they are legitimate firms that have legitimate reasons for asking for people's financial information such as bank access, credit card numbers and so forth. This is phishing.

The second purpose behind email identity theft is for spamming. The most common of the ISPs and email providers have spam blockers. If, however, someone perpetrating email identity theft sends an email to an individual or firm under the guise of someone that person or firm knows the message will not be blocked.

Here are some tips on email identity theft prevention.

The first suggestion for prevention of email identity theft is to use a DNS service supplier or domain registrar not related to your Web host company. This is useful to prevent your being blocked on the Web if someone passes themselves off as you and commits phishing or spamming expeditions.

You might want to take this one step further and keep a second copy of your site as a hot backup from a second server and host provider. If the first host company fails you can switch quickly.

Shorten your Time to Live (TTL) settings, which will limit your DNS records lifetime. The longer your cached copies of the DNS records are available the longer users can be directed to the fraudulent site.

If you can, choose a host that gives you an IP address that is not shared. If you share your address and the other sites are victims of email identity theft, you could be shut down when they are.

Finally, if you are a consumer and receive an email from a bank or what seems a legitimate business, never click on the link in the email. Manytimes these will take you to sites that may look ligitimate, but are set up to try to dup you into providing a user name, password, and worse yet, credit card information or other personally identifiable information. So, instead, go to your browser and hand type in the URL of your bank or other business. If you ever have any doubt, just wait until business hours and call the company that supposedly sent you the email to determine the legitimaticy. Never transact business with people or companies you don't know and can't verify.

email identity theft, email identity theft prevention, identity theft, internet identity theft, phishing, spamming

Related Entries

Medical Identity Theft Can Happen To Anyone

admin — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:55:49 +0000

There are many ways in which identity theft can be stolen from a person and carried out. Your credit cards can be used, your social security number could be used to get a job, your bank account and credit record could be used for loans and mortgages and so on. One type of identity theft you may not have thought about is medical identity theft. There is where someone uses your name in relation to medical activities.

Some Examples of Medical Identity Theft include:

1. Cashing in on the medical insurance – this is where you may find yourself in an emergency where you have to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention. While filling out the formalities you are informed that, your insurance has just been cashed in and that your present procedure cannot be covered anymore under it. Stunned, you try to remember whether you had indeed anything to do with any hospital or medical procedure in the recent past and come up with nothing. You are a victim of medical identity theft.

2. Any example is if you are hospitalized for some reason or other and your records show high abuse of controlled substances. You are put under observation and you are in danger of being reported and treated for drug abuse, when tests reveal that you have a clean chit, everyone realize that you have been a victim of medical identity theft.

3. You are a doctor and all of a sudden, you find yourself under strict scrutiny and investigation. Later you find that your prescription paper has been used to gain access to extremely dangerous drugs. It takes a great deal of effort and perseverance to clear your name from this type of a problem. You are a victim of medical identity theft.

4. A close relative has just recently passed away, however, you find that all of a sudden that the person is “alive” since there are bank transactions in his/her name, and other signs that he/she is alive. This happens when a person manages to obtain the last medical records form the hospital where a people die, and by clever manipulation, the person can take over the deceased identity. This too can be termed as a medical identity theft.

There are many different ways and instances where the medical identity of a person can be stolen. It usually happens when you give easy access to outsiders to medical bills, medical appointment cards, and medical records by leaving them in full view of strangers – for example on your study table. At that time, it may take anyone only a few seconds to note the essential details and then cash on it through medical identity theft.

identity theft, medical bills, medical identity theft, medical insurance

Related Entries

Tips to Prevent Internet Identity Theft

admin — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:14:10 +0000

Internet identity theft is a concern, or should be a concern for anyone who surfs the Internet or transacts business online. As more people become comfortable shopping online, the opportunity for internet identity theft increases. Every block that is established to protect a person’s identity, another breach is made enabling a dishonest person to steal their identity.

In some of the most prolific scams of internet identity theft involve someone simply being asked for their information and, as unfortunate as it may be, some people willingly provide the necessary information to allow someone to steal their identification. A name, social security number and an address is basically all that is needed to assume someone’s financial identity.

Phishing is probably the most common scam helping crooks in their quest for internet identity theft and once they have the needed information; there is virtually no limit to what they can steal from you. When phishing, an unwitting victim will receive what appears to be a legitimate email from a business with which they deal. A claim may be made that your information has been compromised and you should sign into your account and verify your information has not been compromised.

Do Not Help Scammers Steal From You

There will be a convenient link provided to visit to check for compromised information. The web page you are taken to will be a very good duplicate of the real business’ page, but if you look at the link closely, there will be part of a name that is not part of the business name. To help reduce to odds of internet identity theft, you should never go to a web page from an email claiming to need information. Simple close the email and sign onto the web page through its own address. TIP: NEVER, ever ,click on an email link but type in the url or web address directly in your browser.

If you do go through a link and give up personal information, the person effecting the internet identity theft can then access your account information, open new accounts and change your mailing address online and it may be days or even months before you know something is wrong. If no credit card bill arrives for a month or so you may consider yourself lucky in not owning anything until you go to use your charge account and find out it has been cancelled because it was maxed out and closed for lack of payment. However, if you catch yourself in time, call your credit card company immediately and cancel your card. Some scammers may wait longer than a month to start charging you and may do a little at a time. TIP: Call your credit card company immediately if you catch yourself too late and have already entered your credit card information on a fake website.

You may at that time also find out about other charges in your name that you knew nothing about as they were opened for you as a victim of this crime and it can take a long time to get everything straightened out.

One recommendation, whether or not you transact business online, is to periodically check your credit history.

Internet identity theft is a real problem and you should always think twice when entering credit card information, id, passwords, or other personal information online to make sure the site is a ligitimate site.

credit reports, identity theft, internet identity theft, online identity theft, phishing

Related Entries

Don't Be A Victim To Social Security Identity Theft

admin — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:50:23 +0000

Perhaps one of the oldest , and most dangerous forms of identity fraud is social security identity theft. When someone has your social security number, they, in the minds of most financial organizations, become you. This is why it is so important to protect your social security number and be very careful whom you give it to. Learn more about protecting yourself from social security identity theft. Social security identity theft occurs when a criminal or scammer gets a hold of your social security number. They then use it to apply for loans, get a visa or passport, or much more. The way someone usually finds out they have been a victim of social security identity theft is long after the theft of their personal information has occurred. They might start receiving calls from unknown creditors demanding payment for outrageously high credit card bills or other loans.

See, when an identity thief gets a hold of someone’s social security number, they can use the power of the Internet to apply for credit cards and loans in that person’s name. They run up the bill, and then disappear. The unsuspecting consumer whose information was stolen is stuck footing the bill, or figuring out how to fight the theft.

Tips to help product your personal information

The best thing you can do to protect yourself from social security identity theft is to avoid giving out your social security number whenever possible. There are many situations where you are asked to give your social security number when it is not really necessary. Find out exactly why the person needs your number, and refuse to give it whenever possible. It does not matter what service or benefit you are receiving. Giving away your social security number is very dangerous.

Your employer will need to see your social security card when you begin employment, and doctors need it for billing purposes. When you are applying for credit, you will need to show it to have your credit score run. But other than these three situations, and some situations with your personal bank, you do not need to give out your social security card.

Avoid saying your social security number out loud. You never know when a potential thief might be listening. Also, do not carry your card with you. If your purse or wallet is stolen, your social security number is the first thing the thief will look for, and you can be certain if they find it, you will become a victim of social security identity theft. Never give your social security number out on the Internet! It is far too easy for someone to capture that information, no matter how secure a sight may seem. If someone needs your social security number for a web based service, and it is legitimate, and then ask if you can mail or fax it to them.

Finally, don't forget to check out our article on credit reports. It is very important to check it often and take immediate action if you notice any irregularities.

identity fraud, identity theft, identity theft prevention, social security card, social security identity theft

Related Entries

Receiving a Free Credit Report

admin — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:57:21 +0000

With identity theft so prevalent, it is a prudent idea to check your credit report often. It will also help in fixing bad credit, or you just want to know what your credit history is like. Looking at your credit report gives you an idea of what a lender will see the next time you apply for a loan or mortgage.

A credit report is a register of a person’s credit history and is made up of four categories of data:

Credit History – this contains a person’s payment history and shows account status, credit limit or credit balance, monthly payment information etc.
Identification Data – also known as the credit header data, this part includes name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
Inquiries – this section contains information about all other organisations or individuals who have looked at the file and for what purpose in the past six months.
Public Records – this part of the report contains data on court judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, and collections.

It used to be law that everyone was entitled to at least one free credit report every 12 months. From then on you may have to pay, but this depends on which state you live in and how much you have to pay. This has now changed and people have to pay to get a copy of their credit report, but there are times you can get a free copy of your credit report.

Obtaining a free credit report

Usually you can still get a free copy of your credit report if you have been recently turned down for credit.

When this happens, you receive a letter that explains why you were refused and the credit bureau used, and how to contact them to get a free report.

The three major credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Some may have more information than others and it’s possible that one of the credit bureaus doesn’t have any credit information on you at all, especially if you don’t have a great deal of credit history.

You can purchase a 3-in-1 report which is basically getting all three reports from each of the credit bureaus. This is a good start especially if you have never seen your credit report before.

The final way to get a free credit report is if you have been a victim of fraud. If you believe there has been fraudulent activity on your credit report then you can write to the credit bureaus, explain to them the situation and request a free copy of your report.

You may want to be cautious if you are using fraud as an excuse to get a copy of the report because every time you do it a note goes on your report.

No Tags

Related Entries

Can You Prevent Identity Theft?

admin — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:46:53 +0000

Knowing how to protect yourself from identity theft should become standard procedure nowadays, especially for those who surf the Web. The Internet is fast becoming the number one way for thieves to steal your identity.

While there are no guarantees, here are some tips on how to protect yourself from identity theft.

The first may seem obvious - to do business with firms you know are reputable. But it's really not so easy in these days of phishing. It takes a little bit of research to find out if that Web site is the work of an identity thief or just less than cautious, less than savvy startup entrepreneur working out of her or his basement and not taking the security precautions you need to safeguard your identity.

Another step in knowing how to protect yourself from identity theft is to learn all you can, and put into use, the various password protection and other security features offered to you for your own computer and your own Web site. A password is only good if it can't be discovered, or at least not discovered easily. Just like the locks on your doors at home if someone really wants to get in he or she will, but the more difficult you make it for him or her to do so the more likely that thief is going to leave you and your information or home alone and wander down the street, or down the Internet to find another victim with less stringent security measures.

Before you do business with an online firm, as part of how to protect yourself from identity theft, check that site's privacy policies. Makes sure they do not give away, publish, or sell your private information. There are several steps you can take on an ongoing basis as protection against identity theft.

Identity Theft Protection Tips

Carrying with you (in your wallet, etc.) only those credit and other identifying cards you will actually need. Never carry your social security card unless you are heading to a place where you will actually have to have it.
Never putting your credit card number, social security number, or other personal and financial account information on any postcard or the outside of an envelope.
Protection against identity theft does not involve just your active credit cards, and because of this you should cut up any expired or otherwise inactive credit cards. Close all bank accounts you aren't using and close credit cards accounts you don't need or don't use regularly. The reason this is important is that, unused or not, they appear on any report of your credit that is requested and could be used to obtain loans, credit or make purchases fraudulently.
As with any computer password, your debit card or ATM card pin should be impossible for someone else to surmise. A pin that is your birth date, your child or spouse's birth date, the last four of your social security number or anything else someone could guess, is no protection against identity theft. In fact, using the last four of your social security number is giving away the most personally identifying portion of that social security number. Do not record your PIN number anywhere. You must memorize it.
Another form of protection against identity theft is to avoid giving out any personal information over the Web, on the phone or through the postal service, unless you are the one that initiated the contact and you know the firm that is requesting the information.
Finally, make sure you shred any sensitive information. I like to shred old credit cards and also old bills after I pay them.

credit cards, identifiable information, indentity theft, internet identity theft, social security number

Related Entries

Immediately Report Identity Theft

admin — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 10:41:02 +0000

Do not waste any time, if you think that you have been a victim of identity theft you will want to report it as soon as possible. When identity theft strikes, waiting even an extra hour or two you may be allowing somebody to do even more damage than they have already done. It is imperative to take swift action in order to help protect your good name and your credit

One of the most common forms of identity fruad occurs when people have their credit card information stolen. This is a very common problem in today’s day and age; especially with the amount of people that are shopping on the internet everyday. If your credit card information has been stolen you will need to report it to your credit card company right away. By doing this they will be able to deactivate your card so that the thief cannot do anymore harm to you. At the same time, they may also be able to help you track down the person who is using your information. At the very least they will be able to tell you what they purchased, and where from. This may not seem important to you, but the authorities may be able to use this information. **Tip 1: write down your credit card phone numbers and store them in a safe place. ** Tip 2: never keep your credit card information on your computer. It may be easy and convenient to put them in a spreadsheet, but it could also fall pray if you get a virus or someone hacks into your system. There are ways to protect files if you store them on a computer and that will be the topic of another article.

Should you discover that somebody is using your personal information there are a couple of different places you can contact.

First of all, try calling the Social Security Administration. They will be able to assist you in taking the appropriate steps in getting everything back in order.

If this does not work for you, try giving the Federal Trade Commission a call at 1-877-IDTHEFT. They will definitely be able to point you in the right direction.

It is very important that you report identity fraud immediately if you feel that you have been a victim. Don’t waste a minute or a second. Those few minutes can save you a lot of time and aggravation.

credit card theft, credit check, credit history, identity fraud, identity theft

Related Entries