Answer: Put simply, ID Theft is a form of fraud. That said, it's not as straightforward as someone stealing your credit card and running down to the electronics store for a
stereo. In that case, you can simply cancel your credit card, claim fraud, and life goes on as normal. ID Theft means they not only have your credit card, but they have control over your entire financial
entity. They can get credit in your name. They can run your credit into the ground.
Question: How Do They Get My Information?
Answer: Identity thieves may use a variety of low- and high-tech methods to gain access to your personally identifying information. They can steal your information by:
Defrauding businesses or institutions
Stealing records from your employer
Bribing an employee who has access to the records
Conning information out of employees
Hacking into the organization's computers
Rummaging through your trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice known as "dumpster diving"
Using a method called "pretexting" (on the phone) or "phishing" (over the internet) wherein they pretend to be a business with which you may have had some financial contact, or that they are "performing a survey." They ask for information no legitimate business would ask for: bank account and credit card numbers, about your credit report, investments, savings, Social Security numbers, birthdates, etc.
Obtaining credit reports by abusing their employer's authorized access to credit reports or by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for and a legal right to the information.
Stealing credit and debit card account numbers as your card is processed by using a special information storage device in a practice known as "skimming"
Stealing wallets and purses containing identification and credit and bank cards
Stealing mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information
Completing a "change of address" form to divert your mail to another location
Stealing personal information from your home
Question: What can they do with my information?
Answer: Identity thieves can take over your SSN, drain your checking and savings, make charges to your credit cards, counterfeit checks, transfer your money electronically, open new bank accounts and credit cards, get a drivers license in your name, run up your debt by buying houses, cars, getting loans and mortgage after mortgage, trips to Europe… and then they can declare bankruptcy. Guess who will be held liable.
Once they have all that history in your nameand by this point, they have more recent history under your name than you dothey can get arrested, give your name, post bail with your money and fail to show up for court. Guess whose name is on the warrant.
It's difficult to predict how long the effects of ID Theft may linger. It depends on many factors including the type of theft, whether the thief sold your information to other thieves, whether the thief is caught, and various problems related to correcting your credit report.
ID Theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or yearsand hard-earned moneycleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good names and credit records. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities and can be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
ID Theft is a $53 billion a year industry. Of that, consumer victims pay only $5 billion a year. The other $48 billion is paid by the defrauded businesses - which they then pass right back to consumers in higher prices. The thieves are rarely caught, the payoff is huge, and they are only getting more ambitious. Instead of "dumpster diving," "phishing," or other methods with absurd names, identity thieves are now breaking into massive credit databases, company personnel files, stealing millions of records at a time.
Question: What Can I do About Identity Theft?
Answer: ID Theft is a cancer on society. It is only getting worse, and once it gets you, it is very difficult to get rid of. More and more people are having their identity stolen. Soon, $53 billion (roughly $200 annually for every person in the United States) may seem like a drop in the bucket.
Protection and prevention are the best answers. If you catch ID Theft early, it can be easier to get over. Many people do not know that they have become a victim for a year or more. A victim may not find out until the day he or she tries to buy a house and the bank denies the loan (85% of victims find out about the crime due to such an adverse situation; only 15% learn through a positive action taken by a business group that verified a submitted credit application). By monitoring your credit report and being stingy with your personal information, you are not only protecting yourself, you are participating in the social contract.
InteliusIntelius is the leading provider of information services for personal
safety and homeland security. Intelius has developed ID Watch, a
service designed to detect, prevent and insure against identity theft.
ID Watch is the first truly proactive solution to the identity theft
problem. Intelius ID Watch is the first service to provide a complete
solution to the identity theft epidemic. Please contact jsears@intelius.com or call 877-974-1500 or visit our Web site: www.idwatch.com.
BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors. Advertisers and sponsors are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankersOnline FREE to all banking professionals. Support our advertisers and sponsors by clicking through to learn more about their products and services.
Print Friendly!
Email This Article!
Discuss NOW!
