You Can Change The Identity Theft Statistics

Talking about statistics I read somewhere that these are not always accurate as they are limited in most cases to a control group. Nonetheless, it is important that you start reversing those identity theft statistics.

Since identify theft has a tremendous impact upon your life both at personal and professional levels, you need to take adequate measures that you do not become part of those statistics. It is not difficult to ensure that you stay safe and out of the reach of any type of mischief. The identity theft statistics say that one in every 20 persons would fall prey to this problem this year. Would you want to be part of those identity theft statistics, or would you want to assure yourself that you stay outside the danger’s dragnet?

How Do You Stay Safe?

Preventing identity theft is just a matter being organized and ensuring that no one ever has access to your personal information, i.e your social security number, your bank account details, your mother’s maiden name, your puppy’s name, you cat’s (if any) name, your dependents’ name and any such information that could be used to prove your identity.

Do not keep any sensitive information in your purse or wallet. Imagine it being stolen, what things are of most importance to you in your wallet? Remove all that would give access to your bank account or enable the thief to apply for a credit card in your name. Do not have passwords, bank accounts, pin codes, social security number, etc. on your person as these too could be stolen. Keep these in a safe place in your home.

Make Xerox copies of all the important papers you have, i.e. life insurance policy, medical insurance, appointment letter, credit cards, etc. This would be of great help in case you do become part of the identity theft statistics. If and when you loose anything, you would be able to immediately inform the correct authorities and have the credit card and other important accounts cancelled or on hold until you sort yourself out.

Staying safe is possible, provided you put in the right effort and you are extra alert when you deal with sensitive information.

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One Way Out

The only real way out of an identity theft situation is to make use of identity theft service companies that have begun to mushroom in countries in the west thanks to the increasing numbers of identity thefts being reported that is due to the amount of notoriety gained by such form of robbery and also because of the huge publicity this new type of crime is being given. However, before you consider using an identity theft service, you need to understand what exactly do such service companies do and what the benefits to you, the customer are going to be.

Basically, an identity theft service is there to proactively help victims of identity theft and an identity theft service will also act on behalf of the victim in requesting fraud alerts being placed on their accounts. Thus, after such a fraud alert has been placed, it helps the creditor in becoming aware of needing to identify you for who you are, and to also investigate whether pending transactions are valid or not.

Another benefit of using an identity theft service is that such companies can request that the victim’s name be removed from junk mail lists as well as pre-approved credit card lists and in addition, the identity theft service will also order credit reports from the three leading credit reporting bureaus on behalf of the victim. Thus, when your identity has been stolen, the identity theft service provides professionally qualified people to assist you in taking care of any complications that may arise as a result of the identity theft.

Nevertheless, there are many who wonder just why bother hiring an identity theft service when these actions can be performed personally by the victim himself, and then the answer is that by hiring an identity theft service, you are basically only saving yourself from being inconvenienced into taking follow-up action, and also getting a little more protection since nothing is overlooked when dealing with the victim’s situation, and thus the victim is given more protection than they could do on their own.

The bottom line is that these services are there with just one mission and that is to protect victims of identity theft after they have been robbed, and thus if you have been robbed off your identity, you would do well to choose them to act on your behalf and get you justice.

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One of the first steps needed to be taken for identity theft restoration is convincing creditors with which fraudulent accounts have been opened that the account was opened as a result of identity theft. Notifying the three major credit reporting agencies of the theft can result in a temporary freeze on credit report access but will take considerably more documentation to extend the freeze for seven years.

Unfortunately, the credit reporting agencies and many creditors take reports of identity theft as an attempt by an individual to get out of paying for their obligations. Especially when charges and other issues with their credit take place in or near their home town. The biggest battle in identity theft restoration may simply be convincing everyone that it happened to them.

Filing Police Report Does Not End Theft Battle

Even when local law enforcement is will to fill out a report on the alleged theft of identity, not everyone recognizes the report as valid proof the individual is not the one that bought the new car, or opened the new line of credit. Although if any business can provide video evidence of the illicit transaction it can be used in identity theft restoration efforts. Federal and state laws have been enacted to give victims more tools in fighting back against identity theft, but it is taking financial institutions a long time to accept that fraud may have been committed.

Not everyone that is told about the theft of an identity is going to instantly believe it. Making sure the facts are available and accurately reported can go a long way down the path of identity theft restoration. How it was determined the theft took place, any accounts opened under fraudulent pretenses and where will all be needed when filling out a report.

Documenting every thing that has been charged under the victim’s name as well as documentation t prove they are not at the location of the charge at the time it was made can play a big role in identity theft restoration for the victim.

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Before automotive dealers act upon the need for identity theft protection, it’s important to understand the weak points in their business. Obviously, the main issue is to accurately identify the person to whom a vehicle is being sold. A quick look at the driver’s license or a call to a credit company isn’t enough to verify the true identity of the person standing before you in the showroom. Criminals know that this is the weakness in an auto dealership and it’s the main reason why identity theft protection is so vital. This situation makes the dealership a victim in two ways.

The first way is by selling an expensive vehicle to someone who is misrepresenting himself. Some salespeople are so intent on closing the deal that if a red flag emerges, they may wave it away. Additionally, sometimes a credit check will remind the seller to verify the identity of the buyer. Unfortunately, many salespeople think a couple forms of identification are all they need. Criminals take advantage of these facts and make sure they calmly offer several types of bogus identification. Automotive dealers also need protection from identity theft after the false buyer is long gone. It’s at this time that the other victim, the person whose identity was stolen in the first place, will come storming into the dealership demanding that the sales agreement be terminated. Not only will the auto dealer be out of a vehicle, they may also need to protect themselves from an identity theft lawsuit filed by the victim.

How To Be Protected

Automotive dealers need to be protected from identity theft at the point of purchase. Smart ID is a highly recommended software program that can authenticate the person before you, not just verify the reality of the identity presented. This security tool sets up a personalized set of questions based on the individual’s unique background. This questionnaire will only be able to be answered by the true person. Smart ID may make the process of background checking slightly longer, but it’s an investment of time that your dealership can’t afford to pass up.

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Financial Identity Theft

This is perhaps the most widely known form of this crime. In this case, a criminal uses another person’s identity to buy goods or services. To accomplish this form of identity theft, the thief obtains personal information from the victim, namely their address, birthdate and relevant credit card or bank account numbers. The credit card or bank account may be breached, allowing the criminal access to all money or the entire line of credit. In other instances, the thief may apply for a loan using the identity of the victim. The resulting financial problems from this type of identity theft often take a long time to resolve and may ultimately affect the victim’s credit history.

Criminal Identity Theft

This type of identity theft poses a completely different set of problems. A criminal may get a state issued ID using the personal information and stolen records from an unsuspecting victim. If, or when, the thief is arrested, they will then present their fake ID to authorities. They may even obtain a bail bond under their assumed identity. This type of identity theft of course, creates terrible problems for the innocent victim. A person may not know they have been victimized in this manner until their driver’s license is suspended or they may even be arrested for not appearing in court. Clearing your name in a case of criminal identity theft can be very problematic. It may be necessary to engage the services of a skilled attorney. In rare cases, the identity theft leaves some problems on the paperwork end of things, with the name of the victim appearing as one of the aliases of the criminal.

Identity Cloning

This occurs when someone uses the personal information of a person to assume their identity in everyday life. This type of identity theft is common when a criminal is trying to avoid arrest or if someone is illegally in this country. In many cases, this type of identity theft doesn’t cause any immediate problems, but is definitely a serious situation.

Corporate Identity Theft

This happens when a thief uses a company’s name and reputation to buy goods or services or to obtain a line of credit. A company who is the victim of this type of identity theft has problems  repairing their credit history and reestablishing their reputation.

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For those of us that have received an identity theft notification letter in the past and have been fortunate enough to do business with a bank that has very proactive identity protection services in place it is a reassuring feeling.  The first kind of identity theft notification letter you can get is from your bank telling you that they know of a vendor that has been compromised and your credit card number was one of the numbers stolen.  A good bank, or credit union as in my case, will immediately cancel that credit card and shut down everything to do with your credit account.  Then they will send you a letter telling you what is going on and issue a new credit card account.  Like I said, it is very reassuring to know that your financial institution is on the ball like that.

Then There Is The Other Side

A friend of mine received an identity theft notification letter a few years ago but unfortunately this one was to notify him of some strange activity on his card.  After reviewing his account he realized that someone had stolen his credit card number and in only a couple of days they had run up his card to thousands of dollars.  By the time he or his bank had caught it the damage was done and he had spent many years getting his identity straightened out.

Getting an identity theft notification letter is a sobering moment and it is not until you read the letter that you realize how well you are protected.  Here is hoping you never get an identity theft notification letter but if you do I hope your financial institution was able to protect you.

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Consequences Of Identity Theft

When an identity theft takes place, you will have your credit accounts and credit cards taken over by the thieves who may also then open new credit cards and credit accounts in your name and even take a loan while using your personal information in order to evade detection. Other than that, after stealing your identity, the thieves may even rent an apartment or flat while using your name and also gain unlawful access to your bank account and not stop at even committing crimes in your name.

Thus, knowing about what is identity theft will help you avoid the often devastating consequences that can occur once your identity has been stolen and though no physical robbing takes place, you can still suffer considerable loss in financial terms as a result of an identity theft. You thus need to know more than just what identity theft is and use your knowledge in taking preventive measures to forestall the possibility of having your identity stolen.

Common ways by which you can be robbed off your identity include thieves going through your mail and trash in order to unearth your bank and also credit card details. Or, you could be robbed off your wallet and then your stolen personal identification, credit cards and bank cards may be misused, or a simple ruse such as falsely extracting your personal details through sending change of address forms can help them gain access to your personal details.

The scale of identity theft in countries such as the US and UK is indeed staggering, and it is believed that more than hundred thousand people in the UK alone have been made victims of identity theft which costs the national exchequer billions of dollars each year. In fact, understanding what identity theft is is very important given the fact that in the US alone, there were, it is believed, fifteen million victims which work out to about one person being robbed of their identity every twenty-eight minutes.

Thus, the sooner you learn about what is identity theft and take adequate precautions to prevent from becoming the next victim, the better it will be for you.

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The two biggest methods being used on the internet are called phishing and spoofing. Sometimes the perpetrators of these thefts use both methods and may appear to actually be doing the victim a favor. In fact, in one of the recent identity theft scams the target victim will receive an email claiming to be from a trusted source, informing them their personal information has been compromised and they need to visit a specific website in order to clear their name.

When they visit the site be using a provided hot link, they are actually going to a site that is designed to look official, but is operated by the scam artists. If the victim fills in the form and submits it, their information has been given to the person using the recent identity theft scams to gather even more personal information and will not even be aware their identity has been stolen until they get hit with tons of bills.

Caution Required When Claiming Prizes

One of the other popular recent identity theft scams involves email advising people that they have won a prize or have been identified as being owed a tax refund from the IRS. Most victims do not realize they never entered the contest in which they have been named a winner and the form they fill out with the winner’s information is just another of the recent identity theft scams. With tax refunds, the Internal Revenue Service will not send an email, or ask for personal information, as they already have it.

Many of the recent identity theft scams involve websites that have been designed to resemble the actual sites, fooling a lot of people into believing they are entering a site they have visited numerous times in the past. There are indications that sites are not what they appear to be but for those that have been scared into believing they have to provide information or risk having their bank account frozen, or the eBay and PalPal accounts compromised. Once the information has been submitted the person becomes a victim of one of the recent identity theft scams.

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If identity theft cases go well for the victim then the thief is stopped and put in jail and the victim has their identity returned and any harm is erased.  Very few identity theft cases end like this but it is these cases that do wind up that way for the victim are excellent case studies for people that are trying to stop theft and salvage their identity. Your identity is your key to the things you want and need out of life and someone stealing that identity and using it for their own purposes can set you back many years.  If there is a way to stop that and get that thief behind bars then you need to become familiar with these methods and employ them when needed.

The Worse Cases Are The Best Teachers

Unfortunately the volume of identity theft cases that ended up badly for the victim with the thief never getting caught and the victim spending a long time recovering their identity is much more than the kinds of cases previously mentioned.  But you can take these identity theft cases and see what the victim may have done wrong in their process and perhaps you can avoid making the same mistakes that victim made.  Knowledge is power and the more you know the more you can protect yourself.

Preparing yourself to fend off identity theft is very important and it is in everyone’s best interest to take the time to become familiar with what has been done right and what has been done wrong in the past.  The more prepared you are the better your chances of  not becoming a victim.

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You can do your own reviews of identity theft protection services by using information available from your financial institutions and credit card companies to see what services they have to offer and how you can benefit from them.  Sometimes there is a charge for these services so make sure you do some thorough reviews of identity theft protection services to make sure that the service offered is something that you want to pay for and take on.  If your financial institution or credit card company is offering free identity theft prevention services then it may be something you want to get involved in.  Either way make sure you do your reviews of identity theft protection services in these cases to make sure you make the right decision.

The Companies That Do The Job

Many have heard the commercial of the CEO of an identity theft protection service company that says he is so confident in his company that he broadcasts his social security number for everyone to hear.  There are many identity theft services companies out there and make sure you look at all the reviews of identity theft protection services to see which company’s services are for you or which ones are too expensive for your budget.

Take your time to make sure you find the identity theft protection service that is right for you.  Whether it is free from your credit card company or the extensive services offered by growing identity theft prevention companies you can’t go wrong by protecting yourself.

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