Identity Theft	Credit Library   E-mail This   Print
	Types of Identity Theft How Is Your Identity Stolen? The Prevention Tips For Victims Online Scams Problem Specific Resources
	Do you know according to FBI’s statistics, which is the crime that has charted top in the whole of the country? Well, it is the crime of Identity Theft that is growing at an alarming rate. A small instance will make the horrid scenario clear to you. Recently a huge racket of Identity Thieves is hauled in the city of New York which has victimized almost 30,000 people ransacking a titanic amount of money of about $2.7 million and spreading over three years! Sounds threatening, right? So, what is really this Identity Theft and how it works? Here is certain useful information for you which will give you enough idea about this crime and will help you eventually to save yourself from the grip of this growing crime. Identity Theft and Identity Fraud are the two terms that are applied to the same crime related with stealing identity and using it for mainly financial gain without the permission of the first person. An Identity Thief can steal your personal information and use them at random for which you will be held responsible. This kind of crime can range from ransacking your credit to jeopardizing your personal life by impersonating you and carry on with criminal activities at your cost. You must be wondering now how these criminals can get hold of your personal data? Well, this is not that much tough for them as generally people don’t take care of certain issues that can really open up their personal information to these fraudsters. Here are some of the ways that can lead one to almost throw their personal information to these thieves: Fraudsters can engage in the garbage cleaning around your home or some offices to collect personal information. This they can easily collect in case you have dumped your monthly credit reports, checks or other documents that bear your identity information like name, telephone number, address, account number and more. Personal identifying information can be collected also through many other ways. Have you ever considered the possibility of exposing your personal information if you throw away a preapproved credit card without tearing the enclosed letter with it? Well, this is another way that can lead your personal data to be stolen as the enclosed letter which contain much of your personal information, can help the scammers to use that credit card without your knowledge and at your expenses. Again there is another way through which much of the personal information is “hacked”. I’m sure you have got it right; yes it is the electronic media or Internet to be precise through which many people expose their personal information to the Identity Thieves. There are people who open the spam mails and also the unsolicited mails without knowing the danger involved in it. But while opening the mail does not itself bring any harm, sending personal information to the mailer obviously triggers the problem. Apart from all these ways, the most common is perhaps eavesdropping. Most of us do not take care while talking in public, to safeguard our own personal information. We may sometime talk to the customer care representative at the public places and give the number of our credit/debit card which can be overheard by the scammers. People can lose their personal identifying information also while using the telephone calling card or the credit cards. These are some of the most common ways through which personal data are collected and then are used to victimize innocent common people. But as you can find out while going through these processes of stealing your personal information, you can also feel that most of the people can avoid being a victim of identity theft, if they become a bit more cautious about protecting their valuable information. Types of Identity Theft While plastic money has become a raging trend of the day, it has come packed with several other banes that you should be very careful of. One among these flip sides is the threat of Identity Theft. Once a criminal gets hold of enough amounts of personal information and the card itself, he/she can ransack your credit which will take eons to recover. Let us begin by offering you a little insight into the consequences that may arise as a result of credit identity and other Identity Thefts. Once an identity thief starts using your account and credit, there is no limit or extent to which it can damage your account, especially if you do not check your account report regularly. This will not only destroy your credit, but the credit history that you have built up diligently and also your good name associated with it. Though once the issue of identity theft is detected, you don’t have to pay for the outstanding bills, but it will take a considerable amount of time to recover the former state while it will keep affecting other aspects associated with your card and credit record. So, is not there any way to stop this at the first place? Well, while loosing your credit/debit cards is common, there are some other ways by which your personal identity is stolen. This can be done through lucrative mails offering huge discounts and asking for your personal information for registering and more. The best way is perhaps to acquire information about credit identity theft along with other crimes where identity is stolen and steer clear of them. Here is some useful information for you: Medical Identity Theft: In this type of identity theft, the criminal steals the other person’s identity or valuable information that can help them to obtain medical benefits and services in the name of another person. Generally wrong entry for a person leads to this type of identity impersonation and identity theft. Financial Identity Theft/ Credit Identity Theft: This is one of the most common Identity Theft and one that has cost several victims huge loss. Generally the criminal gets hold of a number of personal information in this case which can include, the credit/debit card number, PIN number, paper check and more. The fraudster can either use this information to draw some substantial amount of money from the account or use the account itself, or can also create another new account using the impersonated identity. In both the cases, the victim suffers huge financial loss and also a number of hazards relating to this crisis. Business Identity Theft: In this type of Identity Theft, the scammer steals the business identity of another person and uses his/her name and personal information in order to obtain credits. Identity Cloning: When an Identity Thief impersonates someone else’s identity in order to avoid authorities or some other charges, it is known as the Identity cloning or character impersonation. This is another very grave situation where the victim not only loses his credit but also his security. Criminal Identity Theft: This is the worse kind of identity thefts as in this one, the criminal impersonates some other person who is arrested and the criminal himself remains free. Moreover, this incident creates huge problem for the innocent victim as he/she has to clear all the charges from his/her name and get back the original identity which takes a considerable amount of time and even after the court proves the victim scot-free, there may remain some improper data holding him/her criminal which can pose problem later. Synthetic Identity Theft: This is another form of Identity Theft which is now growing among the fraudsters. In this case the social security number of the victim is combined with a fake birth date and name, in which case it becomes hard to track the crime. Criminals are using this technique in order to hide themselves as well as obtain substantial amount of credit. In this process both the creditor and the victim face enormous problem. These are the types of Identity Theft that are making a huge number of people their victims creating huge financial losses. Therefore, to avoid ending up being one of those hapless people, take necessary guards and use your credit/ debit card properly. How Is Your Identity Stolen? As we have discussed previously also, identity or personal information can be stolen by the fraudsters in several ways. That is why the more you acquire information on these the better is your chance to steer clear from the vile grasp of the Identity Theft rackets. So here are some more information that you should check out to save your personal information: The most common way by which identity thieves can get hold of your personal information is by flicking your bag or purse. In public transports or in shops and market, this kind of incident often takes place where they steal your wallets to obtain valuable personal information or the cards. These fraudsters can even steal mails from your mailbox to get valuable information through credit card application, newly approved credit cards, or pre-approved credit cards. There is another prevalent method that credit-card scammers are using very often recently. Have you heard of the “Dumpster Divers”? These are the group of people who rummage through the dustbins and waste-boxes in search of the discarded bank or credit card statements which prove valuable to them as they bear much personal information. Skimming is another procedure that the Identity Thieves use many a time. This is the way in which at cash centers or at restaurants your card is swiped through a machine called “Skimmer”. Now this machine reads the magnetic strip behind the card and obtains personal identification information. Shoulder surfing is another way that you should be aware of. In this way the scammers gets to know much of your personal information when you are talking over phone and giving your card number or other information to the bank or someone else or when your are using your phone calling card. “Spoofing” is another widely used method for personal information theft. In this process the fraudsters make the internet users and the online customers believe that certain email and offers belong to certain well known and legal business houses and make them enter a wide range of personal information. This generally happens through online offers of discounts or auction and you need to be very careful before you enter your personal data. But the most effective way for the scammers is perhaps stealing personal information from the office database. In office a huge amount of personal information and the data are stored and if a fraudster gets access to this, he/she can steal these and use for the crime. There are many other ways that these scammers use which generally do not even occur to us to be potentially dangerous. These may include even the social networking sites which are particularly dangerous. Moreover, these thieves target people through false job offers as well. While Identity Theft racket is so prevalent and thieves are using several methods and ways to steal the identities and personal information from people, you need to be very cautious in your steps while using your credit/debit cards, bank information and other personal information in public and these will ensure your safety to a great extent. The Prevention Coming to this present section, let us recapitulate first what we have already learnt. Now we know what is Identity Theft, how devastating it can be, the ways it can affect you, the ways that identity are stolen and also the several types of Identity Thefts. Now is the time for that obvious question which is, “What are the preventive measures that I can adopt against Identity Theft?” And here is our answer where we have strived to inform you about all the possible ways which you can undertake to safeguard your identity. Read on to equip yourself: Now let us divide our daily time and other undertakings into a simple division which will lead you towards more comprehensive ideas about protecting your personal data. At Home Keep a good and close check over all your financial and personal identification information. You should keep the documents related to your credit/debit cards, bank accounts and other financial issues at a place where you can access properly but out of the way of others. Keep a close check on your dumping bins as well to get rid of the dumpster divers. Though it is not possible always and for that make sure whenever you are throwing away some financial, business or other documents where your identification information are, shred those properly. Mail-box is one thing that you should protect very cautiously. Keep a regular check on your mailbox and more so if you have applied for credit/debit cards. Moreover, you should also check your mail-box regularly in case any pre-approved credit cards arrive. Arrange with your post office to hold the mails from being delivered to you if you are going to travel. You can arrange this with your trusted neighbors or relatives or friends also to keep your mails for the time being. Protect your computer with all kinds of protective software like firewall, anti-virus and so on. These will make sure that your computer is not hacked and your personal information is safe there. While getting rid of the personal computer make sure that the hard drive does not contain any personal information. This you can do by using the utility program known as “wipe” that will erase the information from the hard drive. Those who use laptops, make sure that you are not using the automatic log in facility as loosing laptops is frequent among users. Moreover, for the same reason, never store any financial information or information that can lead to identity theft in laptops. While Travelling Make sure that you are keeping all your credit/debit cards at the same place and always keep a copy of all your valuable documents that you are keeping in your wallet. Never disclose any of your personally identifiable information in public, like your social security number, account numbers or number of your credit/debit cards. Always carry the cards that you will be using and not more than that. Do not carry important documents on your travel unless absolute necessary. Try not to give your personal information while using the public telephone. Even if you have to use it, use the booth where you can take the facility of the closed door. General Security Measures Always ask for a copy of your credit reports to keep a close check on the particulars and activities. Whenever the need appears that you have to give your personal information verify again and again how your personal information is going to be used. Moreover, check out the authenticity of the institution that you are giving the information to. This you can do by calling the customer care number listed in the website and checking the website thoroughly. This will opt out the chance of being “spoofed”. To avoid the skimming machine, try, if possible to pay by cash and not using the card. In case your credit/debit cards are stolen along with informing the police you should inform the major three credit agencies as well. This will make sure that your cards are not used indiscriminately by the perpetrator. Keep a minute check on your credit card bills and also the billing times. If you do not receive a bill timely, immediately inform the authority. If your credit reports and other financial documents are send to another address which you have not registered, that can be a case of Identity Theft and immediately bring this into the notice of authority and take necessary steps. These are some of the measures that you can follow to protect yourself against the Identity Theft. Make sure you follow these properly to steer clear of the traps set by these fraudsters. Tips For Victims It may happen and has happened many a time that, even after you have followed the protective measures, someone have hacked your personal identifying information making you a victim of the Identity Theft crime. Before it leads you to a stage where it may take years to correct the misuse, take the following steps that can minimize the damage to your finances and good name. It will also make sure that you can regain the charge over your financial matters and secure yourself against these perpetrators. Here are some tips for you: The sooner you realize that some fraudulent activities are done or your account has been tampered, notify your creditors and bank authorities immediately to take necessary steps. In case your credit/debit card is stolen you should take the similar step. While informing the creditors they may want some proof for the fraudulent activities and in this case you need to obtain a police report for the same. So, inform the local police and get a police report immediately as well. While informing the police and the creditors is important, the major task is still left. This is to inform the major three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. You have to inform any one of these three in order to place fraud alert on all your files and the other two will get the information automatically. At the time of issuing the fraud alerts for your files, get the identity theft victim’s statement as well. While the fraud alert is placed, you can obtain the credit reports for free. Thoroughly check the credit reports to mark the unusual transactions which you have not done. To clear your name from the future misunderstanding, you need to obtain the creditor’s document also. This may be a bit tough since the privacy policies of different creditors are different. But you can close the disputed account by successfully completing the paper work that a creditor needs. This can help you in getting your debts dismissed which you have not incurred. This will need the police report which you should obtain while complaining in the local police office. FTC or the Federal Trade Commission undertakes the duties of receiving identity theft complaints and processing it according to the Identity Theft & Assumption Deterrence Act. Therefore, you have to lodge a complaint regarding the issue there also. In case the perpetrator has tampered with the address, social security number or the tax information you need to contact the postal office, Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service respectively. Apart from that, if the Identity Thief has committed the crime using any check, you need to contact immediately the companies that verify the check fraudulent complaints. Some of these companies are ChexSystem, SCAN, Check Rite and some others. The moment you have noticed any unusual transactions or activities using your accounts or any other personal information, take all the necessary steps to stop the scammers there and then save yourself from facing further damages. Online Scams It has been noticed that a majority of the Identity Theft crimes are committed online. Online scams have victimized a wide number of people through a number of ways that may apparently appear to be harmless and yet have the potentiality to wreck a person financially. Here are certain tips and information for you which will make you aware of the several ways that internet frauds work and at the same time you can protect your valuable information from these scammers. Phishing is a common way through which Identity Theft occurs most. Most of us have received sometime or other anonymous mails asking us to take part in online auctions or with information of huge discounts. Many of the mails can lead you to disclose some of your valuable personal and identifiable information which you should never disclose at the first place. Mails can even come in the name of some recognized financial organization. But no matter from where the mail comes, if it asks for your credit/debit card number or social security number of valuable information like this, be aware unless you may fall victim to an online scam. There is another scam known as the “script kiddies”. These people just hack your computer and reach the server to stream out important information stored there. You need to guard your computer against these hackers. Use Firewall protection that really works for better. Online transactions is a facility that may help you a lot in saving time, but at the same time be sure that you are using a secured server and connection. Otherwise you run the risk of your personal information being disclosed to the scammers. Another way by which the online scammers can obtain some of your valuable information and can reach to more secured information is the trick where the fraudsters ask you to verify your entry and ask for personal information. Remember that your name and email id are enough to verify you. But if it asks for your birth date and other personal information, it is time that you should be on your guard. Internet users should be aware of another potential dangerous use. Sometimes it is asked whether you would like the computer to remember your id and password or not. Click “no” right away if you are using the public computer and also do not use the option in your personal computer if it is not secured by Firewall protection. These issues may lead one to believe that if they don’t use computer or internet they and their personal information are secured. But this is a vain idea. That is because, may be you are personally not using the computer and the internet, but many of your personal information may be stored in other systems like in your office and so on. So, at a time like this when online scams and Identity Theft are raging, take utmost care to protect your personal information as much as you can. Problem Specific Resources Now that you know much about the scam of identity thefts, you may like to jot down some important addresses and sources of help if unfortunately you or any of your acquaintances becomes a victim to these fraudsters. Now there are a number of organizations and authorities that will help you in this regard, but as personal information can be obtained through several sources, you need to contact the concerned authority and not someone else. Suppose you have become the victim of Identity Theft through your passport, contacting DMV in this case will not help you, but you need to contact the US State Department of Passport Services. So, here are certain resources that you can use in case of emergencies arising from this kind of fraud. If you fear that your personal information, especially those related to your financial transactions, accounts, credit/debit cards can be streamed out, through the many financial offers that you receive from time to time, then you can opt-out from these. You can opt-out from receiving pre-approved credit cards and can also inform any of the three major credit bureaus from giving your personal information to the direct marketers which also run the risk of exposing your personal data. This is the toll free number that you should use in case you want to opt-out from pre-screened credit cards: You can give a call to this number: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567- 8688) and all the 3 major credit bureaus use this same number. Reach out to these addresses, in case you are willing to put a stop to the giving out of your personal information to the direct marketers: Equifax, Inc. Experian TransUnion Options PO Box 740123 Atlanta, GA 30374-0123 Consumer Opt-Out 701 Experian Parkway Allen, TX 75013 Marketing List Opt Out PO Box 97328 Jackson, MS 39288-7328 Your passport is another important source of your personal information that may prove to be a treasure to the fraudsters. But if in any case you suspect that your passport is being misused and specifically for the crime of Identity Theft, you have to contact the Passport Services of the US State Department. This is the address where you have to write to: U.S. Dept. of State, Passport Services Consular Lost/Stolen Passport Section 1111 19th St., NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20036. At the same time you can use: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html this is the link of the site that will yield much information for you to make use of. But even though you are using this site, be very cautious about fake websites related to passport which may claim to be very authentic and Government sites. A simple way to recognize the authentic Government sites is to see the suffix. If the site URL is ending with “.gov”, then it is reliable. If you suspect that your driving license is being used by the identity thieves, then you have to contact the state DMV office as soon as possible. File a report there with any supporting documents and also ask them to issue the fraud alert on your files. You may need to get a new number as well. For more information visit the site of FTC: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm#Motor Telephone calling card can be another potential source of identifying information to the scammers. In case you have lost it or calling card is stolen, you need to close the former account and reopen a new one. You can also check out with the service provider if the offer is the option of password to be used when your account is being changed. Telemarketing, Direct Marketing and Internet marketing are other sources where your personal information is used at random. You can opt-out from these services by calling or contacting the specific authorities. DMA or the Direct Marketing Association has their specific services for customer preferences. Here are some information where you need to contact if you are sure that you don’t want to receive any marketing mails or calls: Telemarketing Direct Mail Marketing E-mail Marketing Direct Marketing Association Telephone Preference Service PO Box 1559 Carmel, NY 10512. Website: Click Here Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service PO Box 643 Carmel, NY 10512. Website: Click Here Website: Click Here Moreover, there is another source of comfort for those of you willing to keep unnecessary calls at bay. The ‘National Do Not Call Registry’ of the US Government is open all the time. You can either call at the toll free number: 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) or can visit the site: http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall to place your contact number. If you want to stop those unsolicited advertising and commercial faxes coming to you, inform the near by office of FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Then again for lost or stolen Social Security Card you need to contact the following: Social Security Administration SSA Fraud Hotline P.O. Box 17768 Baltimore, MD 21235 Toll Free: 1-800-269-0271 E-mail: oig.hotline@ssa.gov FTC is a great source of help regarding the issues of Identity Theft. You can contact FTC at this address: Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Clearinghouse 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 Toll Free: 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) Website: Click Here So, these are some of the important information that we have furnished for you and which you can find very handy in case you or any of your acquaintances has fallen into the cobweb of Identity Theft scams. While equipping yourself with the information about what this crime is, the effects, the ways you can save and fight back, one thing you should always remember is that, all these will prove futile if you don’t pay heed to the security and protection of your personal information from now on. So, start on the mission of safeguarding your personal data and carry on with a happy life with in your own identity.