Facts About Identity Theft

Protecting You Identity Through Knowledge: Facts About Identity Theft

There are several ways that an individual can be victimized by thieves. For example an individual’s home can be broken into and various personal possessions can be stolen. Some of those personal items could include computers, large screen televisions, jewelry, cash, etc.

Also, high on the list of items that are typically a target for theft are vehicles, laptop computers, wallets, purses, etc. Despite the anger, rage and violation of privacy that one may feel being victimized by this crime, fortunately these items can be replaced.

However, there is one crime that is extremely personal and can devastate an individual’s financial situation, good credit standing and can take years to undo the damages that can be caused. This ravaging crime is identity theft.

With the victims of this crime being on the rise it is important to be well acquainted with the facts about identity theft. Those basic facts about identity theft include an understanding of identity theft, personal facts about identity theft, and one additional fact surrounding identity theft.

Identity Theft Defined

Briefly, identity theft is the unauthorized use of someone else’s own personal information. That personal data may include a person’s name, address, social security number, birthdate, miscellaneous financial information, etc.

A critical fact about identity theft is that other unscrupulous individuals endeavor to gain this information with the purpose being to financially gain from this theft. This financial gain or stealing another person’s identity will help them open up new credit card accounts in the person’s name, access their existing financial accounts, access existing credit card accounts, etc.

Another important fact about identity theft is that this can happen to anyone. Therefore, it is important to be diligent, protect important documents and never give out financial account or social security numbers.

Personal Facts About Identify Theft

Identity theft is a very traumatic event and can take its toll on the person both financially and personally. The financial repercussions for an individual due to identity theft are apparent. Unauthorized access to credit card and bank accounts can be extremely devastating although there may be limitations to the individual liability.
However, when a thief actually steals the person's identity there is a greater violation factor that takes place. This violation factor spills over into a personal level in which a person's good name can be smeared by a thief conducting illegal actions. That violation factor can be the opening of new credit card accounts, obtaining a personal ID in which the victim’s name is assumed, or other fraudulent acts conducted through the taking of another individual's name.

All of these acts associated with identity theft can be performed when the thief is able to gather personal and confidential information from the victim. Often the individual who has been victimized by this type of robbery will find that it takes a considerable amount of time to repair the damage that has been done.

One Additional Negative Fact About Identity Theft

One additional negative fact about identity theft can be realized when a potential employer runs a background check on an individual who is looking for employment. If this individual has been the victim of identity theft, fraudulent activity may be revealed through that generated report. Therefore, if the individual is not given a chance to address the negative report it may impact the chances of the identity theft victim from successfully applying for that position.

Credit Repair And Identity Theft

Credit Repair And Identity Theft Often Go Together

There seems to be no end to the imagination of the people that steal someone's personal information and use it for financial gain, while ruining the credit history and reputation of an unsuspecting identity theft victim. There is an increasing need for companies that help with credit repair and identity theft is making their services much more valuable. Unfortunately, there are also scams that reportedly are going to help a person recover with credit repair and identity theft is their main goal.

When a person has become the victim of identity theft, it can take years to clean up the mess. Even if the theft has been reported and thoroughly investigated, simply proving they have been a victim is not enough for the major credit reporting agencies to wipe out the fraudulent information. It can be an expensive and time consuming process to affect credit repair and identity theft effects can hang around for years.

Once an identity has been used illegally, the victim may not be aware of the problem for many weeks or even months. In some instanced the victim was not aware of the problem until the thief failed to make a payment and with bills being sent to a different address, the need for credit repair and identity theft may not be known until they apply for credit and learn about an outstanding bill.

Assuring Personal Information Is Properly Protected

When reviewing options for credit repair and identity theft is a concern, no one should even consider information that arrives unsolicited. For one thing, credit reporting agencies will never start a conversation with anyone about their credit report. Emails may be received claiming to be from one of the major agencies, or from a company that can help with credit repair and identity theft problems, but unless the targeted person is fully aware they have a problem, odds are that the email is a scam attempting to gather personal information.

Credit repair can take time and while there are some legitimate companies that help with credit repair and identity theft, people can do the work on their own and clean up the mess that used to be their credit history. Companies guaranteeing they can restore a person's credit immediately, are not going to be able to remove any legitimate negative entries on the report, regardless of the promises they make. If they do manage to remove any items illegally, it is the individual that will be held liable for fraud.

Corporate Identity Theft

Corporate Identity Theft is a Real Concern

Have you ever heard of corporate identity theft? While most people understand the basis of identity theft, when it's applied on a corporate level, the stakes are raised. The victim company stands to lose a considerable amount of money as well as a reputation. Their loss of revenue can later translate into higher prices for certain goods or services, which will affect customers across the board. Although corporate identity theft may not be an immediate concern for most people, the effects of this fraud can easily carry over into the marketplace.

How Does Corporate Identity Theft Happen?

Generally, corporate identity theft happens in one of two ways. The criminals can use the identity of the company to steal company-controlled funds or the thieves can use the company name to steal from their customer base. In the first instance, the theft occurs when a criminal uncovers the corporation's identity, namely case-sensitive bank account numbers and passwords. With this information, unlawful withdrawals or payroll checks can release large sums of money to the thief. In the second case, corporate identity theft occurs when someone uses your company name to lure customers. The thief may set up a phony web site, that looks very much like the legitimate one, and then "sells" the real company's products or services. In this way, the criminal gains additional personal information from the victimized customers, as they give out their credit card or bank account numbers. Stealing a corporation's identity may also take the form of a larger type of theft. The thief may use the company's identity to receive a line of credit or to make large purchases. Besides the financial aspect of this crime, the company's good credit history may be destroyed. It's a disturbing fact that many money-lending institutions don't properly screen the applicant and therefore do not verify if the person actually is a legitimate representative from the company.

How Can Corporate Identity Theft Be Stopped?

The first thing is to be aware that it can happen to your company. Knowing that your business may be vulnerable is a good step toward recognizing the situation. Corporations should regularly monitor their credit history. Get a report listing all transactions made in the company's name. Carefully compare this statement with your own records and if there are any discrepancies, report it immediately to the credit institution. Check to make sure this credit report isn't listing any "authorized" employees that you have not approved. Keep case-sensitive account numbers limited to only a few trusted employees. Corporate identity theft doesn't have to happen to you.

Consequences For Identity Theft

Beware The Consequences For Identity Theft

People become victims of identity theft every day, and the consequences for identity theft are great. Victims have found that the consequences for identity theft sometimes take years to correct. There are thousands of people trying to put their lives and accounts back together because of the consequences for identity theft. The consequences for identity theft are both financial and emotional. An identity thief steals your identification and then uses that identification to rob bank accounts, make credit card charges and obtain employment. These thieves steal when people are unaware usually so people should be aware of steps that they can use to avoid the consequences for identity theft.

These thieves listen to people making transactions at a bank or at a rental car counter. They go through the garbage left out for collection, and they hack into accounts on the internet to retrieve vital information. Most people do not think twice when they put their garbage out for collection, but they might be frightened if they knew the consequences for identity theft. Shredders are available in many shops, and these machines might help people avoid the consequences for identity theft. Shredding bank and credit card statements could help people avoid the consequences for identity theft.

Consequences For Identity Theft Can Be Avoided

Shopping for a new house can be exciting, and finalizing the paperwork can be a chore. Imagine spending a great deal of time on the process of finding and purchasing a new home only to find out that your credit score is too low because you have too many credit cards. An identity thief can apply for credit cards in your name and then have them sent to their address. They can make purchases using a credit card that the victim has never seen. These consequences for identity theft could be very harmful to the security of an entire family.

People write checks every day to make purchases or pay bills. Imagine a call from a shop asking you to make good on a bounced check. A victim of identity theft could think that there is plenty of money in their accounts only to find out that someone has drained their account of all funds. These consequences for identity theft could leave a victim drained of their hard earned money. An identity thief could get a copy of your drivers license and give this to the authorities after an accident. A victim could be implicated in a crime that they had no part in at the time.

Computer Identity Theft

By Using The Computer Identity Theft Has Significantly Increased

With the widespread use of the computer identity theft has become an increasingly growing problem. Thieves no longer have to dig through trash cans or try to hack into people's computer files to grab their social security number and other personal information, all they have to do in many cases is ask them for their information and many trusting souls willingly provide the information. Walking up to a person on the street and asking for their social security number usually will not work, but when sending an unsolicited email to their home or work computer identity theft is just as easy.

When the computer was first becoming popular, hackers would attempt to break into computer systems and glean information. Although many were quite successful in this type of computer identity theft, it could be time consuming and hackers quickly learned they could count on the trusting nature of most individuals to get their information.

Their strongest weapon in gaining information is fear. A common fear among people that they will be the target of computer identity theft and it is, in fact, that fear that enables thieves to get their information. When a person receives an email from what appears to be a company with which they do business telling them their identity may have been compromised, they have no qualms about following the instructions in the email.

Phishing Scams Enable Thieves To Hook The Big Ones

These scams work by presenting an official looking website to which their intended victims are directed. There is little to indicate to the average user that they are becoming the victim of computer identity theft. All companies that use the internet for gather information do so through secure websites and those can be determined to be real. A secure website will have an image of a lock at the bottom of the screen and the screen name will usually begin with 'https' indicating it is a secure site.

Computer identity theft victims may not realize their personal security has been compromised for several weeks and by the time they do find out, their credit record will be a disaster and collection efforts for debt of which they are unaware may be starting the collection process.

In order to prevent being a victim of computer identity theft, never click on a link included in an email or copy and paste it into your web browser. Instead, enter the site as you normally would and forward the email to the site's customer service address to verify its authenticity.