Indentity Theft

Imagine a world where you can leave your front door unlocked. Or a world where everyone returns lost wallets or purses with nothing missing. Okay let's get back to reality. In 2006 8.9 million people in the US were victims of identity theft. So this evening I will be talking with you all about this growing problem. Some talking points I want to discuss are what is identity theft? How does it occur and how to prevent or report identity theft.

First I want to explain a few general facts of what identity theft is. Identity theft is so much more than someone getting a hold of your social security number. Identity theft is when a criminal obtains and uses someone's personal information like bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and insurance information to fraudulently purchase services or goods. With this information the thieves open new accounts and purchase products meanwhile leaving the bill for the unsuspecting consumer to deal with. Many of the victims of identity theft don't find out about the crimes committed against them for months on end. So I guess your wondering how does this happen? Well let me give some insight into the criminal mind.

Over the years identity thieves have developed numerous ways to steal personal information. In today's technology driven society getting information is even easier but not the most commonly used as you would think. Some of the more common ways these thieves obtain information include the following:

Ð'* Stealing your purse or wallet

Ð'* Stealing your mail from your mailbox

Ð'* Rummaging through your trash, a businesses trash, or a public dumpster (known as dumpster diving)

Ð'* Calling and pretending to be a legitimate company that has a problem with your account (known as pretexting).

Ð'* Completing change of address forms and sending your mail to another location.

Ð'* Even stealing personal information they find inside your home if they are working inside or around it.

Now if that was enough what about when they start to use technology to aid in their underhanded deeds. Some examples of this include:

Ð'* Sending official looking emails from legitimate companies that say they have a problem with your account (known as phishing).

Ð'* Using portable storage devices that can be attached to ATM machines that capture your credit or debit card information after you swipe or enter it into the machine (known as skimming).

Ð'* And of course using the internet to hack into your or major business computers to steal personal information.

Okay so now you're thinking well how in the world am I going to keep my information out of the wrong hands. Well now I am going to give you a few good tips