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Identity Theft - What Identity Theft
is and How to Protect from Identity Theft
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Before describing
what is identity theft? I
like to point out the fact that in 2006 alone, 10 million
Americans fall victims to identity theft, and its getting worse
in 2007 where it has been estimated that
one in five (20%) American adults will be victims. In
Canada
one in six Canadians has been hit in 2006
according to the survey conducted by Strategic Counsel for the
Competition Bureau of Canada.
There is no doubt that one of the rapidly
growing threats on internet is online identity theft, which
means that internet users identities are used illegally without
the knowledge or consent of the individual victims. |
One of the surveys conducted by identity theft resource,
identified that use of the internet for identity theft increased dramatically
from 15% in 2005 to 28 % in 2006, while it took for the victim from six hours to
as many as 144,000 hours for repairing the damage and bearing over $1,884
dollars out of pocket expense. Thing gets worse in 2007 where projected expense
is over $15,000.
Want to Protect Your Identity?
Along with
identity theft prevention practices, use
Lifelock that prevents your identity from being
stolen before it happens
.
So
what is identity theft?
In simple terms, it is the misuse of the identity
(such as the name, date of birth, current address) of another person without
their knowledge or consent.
There are numerous ways in which information can be stolen, and the
most famous in the online world is phishing, while on the offline world it is Bin raiding, where
fraudsters retrieve documents such as utility bills, bank statements or
even junk mail that you have thrown away. Once this information is
obtained, then this information can be used to apply for credit in your
name or to perform any malpractice against your name. The best solution
to be safe from bin raiding is to buy a paper shredder, and to use it to
shred any documents that contain Social Security number, bank or credit
card account numbers, birth dates or any other personal information.
Online Criminals utilize technology at best, and for that their best
friends are phishing emails, and
Trojans.
The anonymity of the internet encourages criminals to perform their
crimes by tricking users out of their personal details without
knowledge of who they are really dealing with. By gathering information
about individuals, such as their bank account, email address, and log-in
details, online fraudsters can in-fact become that person and no one
will suspect until it is too late. There have been numerous identity
theft cases where fraudsters took out someone's financial information
and used that information to move money, open new bank or credit card
accounts, take out loans or increase lines of credit, or used their
identity for malpractices. After describing what is identity theft, let
me allow to assist you in providing following simple steps to
protect your identity.
Protect Your
Identity
- Employ identity theft prevention practices.
Check Your Credit
Report - Knowing your credit information is a
good start towards protecting your identity. It will help you to
know if you are already been a victim or not. You can either get free
credit report or you can get your
credit information for a nominal fee.
Enrol into one of
the ID Theft Protection Agencies -
Identity theft protection agencies specializes in
preventing identity theft before it happens. They do this by placing
alerts on your credit report. This means thieves can not open an
account or take out a loan in your name without your express consent
from a phone call. One good company is
LifeLock. If you enrol into Lifelock then they will remove you
from junk mail lists, marketing databases and pre-approved credit
card offers. If a thief does manage to steal your identity and
damage your credit and reputation, Lifelock will do all the footwork
to fix your good name, up to one million dollars.
I hope by reading "what is identity theft", you are now aware about
identity theft and its threats, and shall take appropriate prevention measures to protect your identity.
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| Are you an Identity Theft
Victim? |
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If you are an identity theft victim, use the info below
to contact the fraud departments.
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Equifax Credit
Information Services - Consumer Fraud Div.
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5496
Tel:
(888)766-0008 (888)766-0008
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Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, Texas 75013-2104
Tel: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742)
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TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
Tel:
(800) 680- |
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