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Identity Theft |
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Identity theft is a situation in which one person steals another’s personal information including that person’s name, address, social security number, credit history and more. The primary motivation for stealing another’s identity is attain some form of financial gain. Identity theft most often happens to individuals but it can also happen to businesses.
Identity theft isn’t hard to commit. All a thief has to do is find a credit card statement with account number intact and he or she can use that number to go online and purchase practically anything. Ordering by telephone is just as easy. The person making these types of purchase isn’t required to provide proof of identity or a signature.
The above situations are serious, but when identity theft of personal and banking information occurs, the person committing the crime can literally wipe out a victim’s entire life savings. Fraud of this type can take many forms including bank drafts, wire transfers, and check forgery.
Other criminals pull off identity theft by eavesdropping or by hacking into databases that store sensitive data. Phishing and email announcements that claim an individual has won a bogus contest are also common ways identity theft is committed.
Those who have been a victim of identity theft find that although they may not be financially liable for some damage, recovery can take months and even years. Victims have had their credit ruined, their money stolen, and have even had crimes committed in their names!
There are many ways you can keep from becoming a victim of identity theft. Most important way is to never divulge your personal information to anyone. That includes your credit card numbers, PINs, your social security number, bank account numbers and other identifying information.
Those looking to commit identity theft will go through the trash looking for bank and credit card statements and other types of mail that reveal another’s personal information. That’s why you should always shred anything containing personal information prior to its disposal. Firewalls can protect your computer from hackers and anti-virus software protects from becoming inflicted by unwanted viruses.
You should also create passwords that will be difficult to figure out rather than using birthdates or names of favorite sports teams. And always carefully review every financial statement you receive.
There are other ways you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. It’s worth your time to research them and to implement all of the safeguards you learn about.
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Credit Card Definitions > F - M > Identity Theft
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