Identity Theft Articles

Identity Theft Insurance - What an Identity Protection Service Does

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:40:13 +0000

Everybody needs to be aware of the dangers associated with the crime of identity theft. If you are doing what you can to not fall victim to this crime, then you need to investigate ID theft protection products.

A lot of personal information is out in the open due to the rampant use of use of consumer credit cards and loan applications. The more your personal information is used, the more likely you will become a victim of ID theft.

There are steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood of becoming the next victim of this crime. On of the most affective, and definitely easiest, steps you can take is to start using a service that is designed to protect your identity.

These services takes several measures to ensure that your identity is protected. This includes placing fraud alerts on your credit reports with the major credit report bureaus, which causes you to be notified whenever new credit is attempted to be opened using your information. By being alerted, you have ultimate authority over who has access to open accounts in your name.

Next, they monitor many places that illegally trade in vital information, to ensure that your information is not on the black market. Also, they take your name off of junk mail lists, which means you should stop receiving those offers of new credit in the postal service, thus reducing the risk of mail ID theft.

There are several companies that offer these identity protection services. While they all do the same basic thing, some companies offer additional features that might do a better job at protecting your identity.

Identity theft is a crime that should be taken seriously. Your good name and credit is at stake, so make sure that you take the risks of identity theft seriously.

Every consumer should be clued into what is happening with their identity. Being one step ahead of the matter of ID theft is the least that you should be doing. You should be doing what you can to protect your identity, and a great place to start is by using an identity theft protection service.

Criminal Identity Theft - The Effects From a Victims Stand-Point

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:40:09 +0000

Look, we all know that Identity Theft is an epidemic, and that unfortunately it isn’t going anywhere. It’s a “Hot Topic” for the media, and especially early afternoon talk shows. It’s terrible! Somehow, somewhere, somebody slipped up and let somebody else obtain their information. It’s not the victim’s fault, these ID theft specialists are pretty crafty. If they get enough info, they will take you to the cleaner’s for certain. I have heard many stories myself. If you fall victim to Financial Identity Theft, it could take weeks, even months to get it all straightened out. Hopefully, you’ll be lucky enough to break back even in the long run, right?

What if I told you that these are the lucky ones? You see, there is a whole different type of Identity Theft out there, it is labeled as Criminal Identity Theft. Criminal Identity Theft is when the perptrator (ID THIEF) uses an individuals personal information in the commission of crimes. It works out great for the perp. Let’s say he/she gets arrested for any reason. If he is convincing enough, he can totally get away with having these crimes go on the victims record instead of his own. If he gets out on a bond before his court date, what does he care if he shows up to court or not. Are you following me, he skips bail and the victim unknowingly has warrants for his/her arrest.

That’s not all. Sometimes the perp actually does get convicted and serves a sentence, all under the victim’s name. These crimes all go on the victims Criminal Background Check and the victim still has no idea at all. When the victim does find out, that’s just the beginning of the hardships. Usually the victim has no idea until someone runs a Criminal Background Check, usually for employment reasons. Once they find out, there’s really not much he/she can do about it. It is a long tedious process of spending hours a day, every day for months (sometimes years) being passed around from one person who has no idea what to do, to another, until eventually you are re-calling the same people in the circle of the clueless.

In my particular case, even though I caught it early, there were still issues of the Police making grave mistakes in fixing the problem. Mostly because they were embarrassed that they were fooled in the first place. So they tried to fix it without the only person who could fix it finding out. So they put a band-aid over a gaping hatchet-wound, so to speak. So paperwork never got filed and never got in the right hands. Now, not only are the 4 felonies that he got under my name on my CBC, but also every crime that this career criminal did under his own name. Now my Criminal Background Check shows me as being convicted of Capital Murder, because my name is his ALIAS (The only way the Police could not look stupid). If you think that can’t affect you more than just a few thousand dollars, try getting a decent job with my record. Also, up until recently, I had warrants for my arrest in the great State of texas for the last 10 years. Which, by the way, is where all of my family lives. Almost all victims of Criminal Identity Theft that have contacted me have a similar story. Few have even got near as far as I have in resolving it.

How Identity Theft Can Destroy Your Credit

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:30:08 +0000

Identity theft has become big business. A few years ago it was something people talked about as if it could never happen to them, but now most of us know at least one or two people who have been victimized.

Losing a purse or wallet is the most obvious way to become a victim, simply because we all carry so much information with us. Armed with our driver’s licenses, social security numbers, and credit cards, thieves can wreak havoc in a short time.

All they need to do is go on line, order your credit report, and find out if you’re a good target. If you have good credit, you are!

Your credit report could show that you have credit cards that are not being used - and that presents a wonderful opportunity. All the thief has to do is get in touch with the credit card company and register a change of address. Then he (or she) can report a lost card and order a new one - which will of course be sent to the bogus address.

After the thief has run up the charges on your credit card, or taken advantage of those cash advance checks that credit card companies like to send to people with exceptional credit ratings, he can stop making payments and guess who gets the negative credit report. You.

Once the new address is established, your thief can also open new accounts. Car loans, a house full of furniture, new credit cards - you name it. As long as he continues to pay the new charges, and until he pushes your debt over the acceptable limits, your credit will remain in good standing.

When your score begins to slip and it becomes more difficult to get new credit, your thief will simply stop making payments and move on to his next victim.

Less sophisticated thieves may simply use your credit cards immediately upon stealing them, but since most people report a loss or theft as soon as they know the cards are missing, this is the least of your worries.

If your personal information becomes misplaced, contact the credit bureaus immediately, so they can put a flag on your account. Also contact your credit card issuers and report the card stolen. They’ll discontinue the numbers and send you new cards. If your checkbook is gone, your bank can also discontinue your numbers and get you new checks and debit cards.

The most sophisticated thieves will copy your information without physically removing your identifying cards - so that you will be unaware of the theft. This could happen at a health club, in an employee break room, or anywhere that your purse or wallet is left unattended for any length of time.

This poses the greatest danger, because unless you’re monitoring your credit report regularly, you won’t know that your identity has been stolen.

Identity Theft - All About Skimming

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:30:04 +0000

Credit card fraud is the most common form of identity theft. Rather than stealing cards or opening new accounts, some identity thieves use a technique known as skimming to take your financial information and sue it for their personal gain.

How Can We Know If Our Identity Was Stolen?

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:20:06 +0000

The modern world of internet technology has provided us with so many things that have helped us and given us the opportunity to make our lives easier by obtaining myriad resources from all around the world. But it has created negative impact in which enable unscrupulous people to access to our lives without our permission.

In this case, personal data is more at stake and an identity theft is said to ruin someone’s life in every two seconds. However, the worst case is that sometimes people do not know that their personal information has been stolen for months. This is the reason you should take note of some unusual events in your daily life in which could be the sign of incoming identity fraud cases like credit card and social security fraud cases.

Being abreast of the clues and awareness of identity theft crimes can help you immensely in gathering information for yourself in order to prevent these unfortunate events happen on you. If you get any unusual phone call announcing the approval or disapproval of any of personal bank accounts that you have never applied for, then this can be the evidence that someone else has used your information to get a credit account of their own.

Frequently, missing mails and credit card or bank account statements are the most common evidence that you can keep a track for identity theft prevention. If you are not receiving any mails that you were supposed to, therefore you must contact the senders or creditors to find out if there was a delay from them. If their answer is “no”, you must start assuming the worst that would happen on you and start tracking down any possible threat from various resources.

Credit Repair - What to Do When You Become the Identity Theft Victim

admin — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:20:04 +0000

Life as an Identity Theft Victim could be stressful and intimidating. Stressful as you need to ensure that all financial and credit accounts are in order or closed and opened new again. Negotiation with bankers and lenders could lead to less favorable terms and conditions should you not be in a financially stable situation.

New Year’s Resolutions to Keep You Safe From Identity Theft

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:20:04 +0000

As we enter this new year, there are many types of New Year’s Resolutions you may be making, and maybe even some of them you may be keeping. One of those resolutions that you make and keep should be to look at your identity theft “health” and make some changes to your “diet” that can help you make sure that you are the only you out there this year.

How Prescreened Credit Offers Lead to Identity Theft

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:10:05 +0000

Have you ever opened your mailbox and found it bulging with prescreened offers of credit? These unsolicited mailings take up a lot of room and can be quite irritating. But did you know that they are also a common source of identity theft? Its true. Identity thieves are watching, and they can exploit your credit offers for their own personal gain.

How Identity Theft Protection Services Work

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:00:06 +0000

It helps to have friends. If youve ever lost your wallet or had your purse stolen, you know how very scared and alone you can feel in such times. Wouldnt it be comforting if you knew exactly who to call to take care of things and prevent your identity from being stolen? Identity theft protection services work closely with their clients to minimize their risk of victimization.

Identity Theft - Statistics

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:50:06 +0000

Identity theft is becoming one of the fastest growing crimes in America, according to the FBI. In one five year time period alone, it was recorded that almost one in four households were a victim of identity theft. It has grown by an average of thirty to forty percent in one year alone, and it is hardly surprising that more and more people are becoming increasingly worried about this relatively new type of crime.