Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America and hits one in four U.S. households a year, according to cnn.com. This means you or someone could at some point be a victim.
This crime brings along a huge amount stress to the innocent victims it affects. To minimize your risk, it is important to be knowledgeable about identity theft.
Identity theft (which is also called identity fraud) is when someone steals another person’s vital information for financial gain.
Personal information that can be used is your Social Security number, birth date, address and phone number. With this information and a fake driver’s license, identity thieves can steal from your bank accounts and apply for credit cards and loans. They can basically just run up a huge amount of debt under your name.
Many of these thieves are skilled and have many ways of stealing your information. Some might Dumpster dive, which means they go through your trash looking for personal information on your mail, including utility bills and bank statements. Another method is called skimming, which is when they steal your credit or debit card number by using a special storage device when processing your card.
Another method is “phishing,” which is when they pretend to be a financial company and send pop-up messages on the Internet to get you to reveal your personal information. And there is always old-fashioned stealing, where thieves take wallets, mail or employment records.
Here are some helpful tips from the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site to help prevent becoming a victim of identity theft:
•Shred paperwork with your personal information on
it before getting rid of it.
•Protect your social security number and do not carry your card with you.
•Never visit links in unsolicited e-mails.
•Do not use obvious passwords like birth dates for
important accounts.
•Do not give out personal information unless you are
familiar with the person asking for it.
•Keep your personal information in a secure place,
especially if you have roommates.