INTRODUCTION
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(Photo: Lotus Head)
In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. In each transaction, you reveal bits of personal information, like your bank and credit card account numbers; your income; your Social Security number (SSN); or your name, address, and phone numbers – a goldmine of information for an identity thief. Once a thief has that information, it can be used without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft.
Identity theft is a serious crime. If your identity has been stolen, count on spending time and money to clean up the mess the thieves made of your good name and credit record. In the process you may lose out on job opportunities, and loans for education, housing, or cars. You may even get arrested for crimes you didn’t commit.
Can you prevent an identity theft? As with any crime, you cannot completely control whether you will become a victim. But according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, you can minimize your risk by managing your personal information cautiously.
HOW IDENTITY THEFT OCCURS
Skilled identity thieves use a variety of ways to gain access to your personal information. For example, they may get information from businesses or other institutions by stealing it while they’re on the job; bribing an employee who has access to these records; hacking these records; and conning information out of employees. Or, they may…
• Steal your wallet or purse.
• Steal your personal information through email or the phone by saying they’re from a legitimate company and claiming that you have a problem with your account. This practice is known as “phishing” online, or “pretexting” by phone.
• Steal your credit or debit card numbers by capturing the information in a data storage device in a practice known as “skimming.” They may swipe your card for an actual purchase, or attach a device to an ATM machine where they may enter or swipe your card.
• Get your credit reports by abusing the authorized access that was granted to their employer, or by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legal right to your report.
• Rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or public trash dumps in a practice known as “dumpster diving.”
• Steal personal information they find in your home.
• Steal your mail, including bank and credit card statements, credit card offers, new checks, and tax information.
• Complete a “change of address form” to divert your mail to another location.
Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may use it to commit fraud or theft. For example, they may…
• Call your credit card issuer to change the billing address on your account. The imposter then runs up charges on your account. Because the bills are being sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.
• Open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the credit cards and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts are reported on your credit report.
• Establish phone or wireless service in your name.
• Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on the account.
• Counterfeit checks or credit or debit cards, or authorize electronic transfers in your name, and drain your bank account.
• File for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they’ve incurred under your name, or to avoid eviction.
• Buy a car by taking out an auto loan in your name.
• Get identification such as a driver’s license issued with their picture, in your name.
• Get a job or file fraudulent tax returns in your name.
• Give your name to the police during an arrest. If they don’t show up for the court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name. Continue >>
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