It doesn't take a brain surgeon to steal someone's ID, and even if you are vigilant, in this electronic age, it's likely to happen to you. You should do what you can to minimize your risks, but more importantly, you should be quick to respond if something goes amiss. Don't laugh. If it can happen to Fed Chairman Ben Bernarke, it can happen to anyone!
Identity theft happens when a person gets access to your name, social security number or other personal bit of information, and either goes after your own resoures, like your bank account or credit card, or else uses it to secure credit or commit a crime...in your name. Believe it or not, some people game on the system so well, there are cases were people sent to prison did so under an assumed identity!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claims over 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year. Often, victims aren't alerted to the crime until a debt collector comes calling. For this reason it is crucial that you go over your credit card bills and credit statements to see if anything is amiss. People's lives are often ruined, from being denied job opportunities, or loans for education, homes or cars. Some are even arrested for crimes committed in their name.
Types of Identity Theft
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there are FIVE categories of ID Theft.
1. Business and commercial identity theft is when someone tries to use another person's business to obtain credit. "Hello, yes, this is Microsoft, I'd like to rent a Learjet."
2. Criminal identity theft is pretending to be someone else when you are caught committing a crime. "Oh, you caught me officer, my name is Charles Lindbergh."
3. Financial identity theft is using another individual's identity to obtain goods and services. "Yes, this is Ross Perot. I'd like to buy some of your Faberge eggs, please."
4. Identical cloning is using another person's private information to assume their identity in daily life. This happens often with illegal immigrants who seek to get credentials to work in the US. "What do you mean do I have a green card? My name is Shaquile O'neal. I'm from Texas. Are you still hiring here at Texaco?"
5. Medical identity theft is using someone else's information to get medical care, or more often, drugs. "Hello, as you can clearly see, Mr. Pharmacist, I have a prescription here for morphine. Please fill 'er up."
How do they do it?
There's no clear cut rule. As technology progresses, so do the methods. As anti-fraud practices catch up with them, they often change. Still, the lowest tech methods still work great. Much of the government warnings on how to protect your identity involve protecting yourself from dumpster divers. They suggest buying a shredding machine and shredding all documents with it before tossing them away. Well that's sound advice, the telephone is a much easier tool to defraud you. Professional con men can call you and pretend to be a banking, insurance, or university employee, or pretend to be selling something and at some point in the pitch, once you've lowered you guard, will start asking for personal information.You should be very careful giving bank account numbers, credit card numbers, birthdates or social security numbers to strangers over the phone. Once they have them, it's not hard to buy online if no one questions them. It's not like they need to show the card or produce an ID to buy something.
Other thieves are more clever, and use RFID sensors to pick up information that's on a proximaty chip in some drivers licenses, new US passports and some credit cards. They need only drive around you neighborhood to get close enough to pinch your numbers. Other times, an unscrupulous employee might simply take down your credit card number after you buy something with your credit or debit card, and use the information for himself at a later date.
Then of course, there is the Internet. Whether it's scam emails from Nigeria, or something more clever like, malware downloaded onto your computer, the Internet can be a gateway to the unsuspecting for easy identity theft. Be sure to use safe internet habits and to use security software on your computer. Often however, people will simply forget to log out of their private accounts on public computers and the next user could very well get into your email, credit or bank accounts if you haven't made an effort to log out completely. Even more common are identity thefts associated with stolen laptop computers. Security experts advise securing your machine against unwarranted access to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
What can they do with my identity?
Once they have some information, it's not so hard to obtain more. If someone has your name, social security number and birthdate, it's often enough to get a birth certificate!
How can you find out if your identity was stolen?
The best way to find out is to monitor your accounts and bank statements each month, and check your credit report on a regular basis. If you check your credit report regularly, you may be able to limit the damage caused by identity theft. People may pass bad checks as you, clone your credit card and go on a shopping spree, obtain a driver's license in your name with their picture and get arrested, or get a job with your social security number.
Most never find out until it's often too late:
- A collection agency contacts you for overdue debts you never incurred.
- Something holds up your application for a mortgage or car loan.
- You get something in the mail about an apartment you never rented, a house you never bought, or a job you never held.
What should I do if my identity is stolen?
First, contact the police. A police report will go a long way when disputing charges you didn't make. Check your credit report, and call your creditors. Dispute anything that looks amiss if you want to restore your good name.
Should I file a police report?
Filing a police report for identity theft creates a special kind of document called, by no surprise, an "Identity Theft Report." This report puts a fraud alert on your credit report and entitles you to certain rights, and can keep fraudulent charges from appearing on your report. This is why it's important to report it to the police, even if you don't expect the police to recover your missing ID, or if you if you've been defrauded over the telephone or Internet. You should also file an ID Theft Complaint with the FTC, and bring that with you when you report it to the local police.
How long can the effects of identity theft last?
It's hard to say. Depending on the nature of the fraud, your credit report may bleed for a long time. That's not to say it can't be resolved, but the faster you report it, the better off you are.
What can you do to help fight identity theft?
Plenty. your best weapon is your awareness. If you know the situations you can be it that make you vulnerable, it will decrease the chances that someone can exploit you. In the modern world, it's not always easy to do that -- we can't demand to pay cash for every transaction, and at some point, checks and credit cards and the Internet become necessary for us to conduct our business. you can still make life hard for the crooks, though, by never giving out personal information easily and by keeping access to your personal information where it should be: to yourself.
