Identity Theft and Identity Fraud

Identity Theft and Identity Fraud

Identity theft has turned into the new crime of the century.   The sad thing is that it is fairly easy.  Identity fraud happens when a criminal  gets hold of someone’s personal data.   They then begin acting as that person; registering credit cards, applying for loans and more to profit at the cost of the victim.  In a very short time an identity thief can cause significant permanent financial damage to their victim; ruining their credit score and racking up huge piles of debt.

Unfortunately these types of crimes can be committed unnoticed.  The victim usually finds out after the fact when creditors start chasing them down for delinquent payments or when the victim applies for a loan of their own.

There are several ways an identity thief can obtain your personal information:

  1. Your trash:  Bills, bank statements, pre-approved credit card offers all contain plenty of information to steal someone’s identity
  2. Skimming: The thief picks up debit card or credit card numbers during another transaction.  Usually at a store or restaurant.
  3. Phishing: This is an internet based deception.  A fake site acts a real financial institution to get you to enter you personal information.  This commonly happens via email, when a fake email will ask you to login to your bank account and update your personal information.
  4. Theft: Stealing your mail, wallet, purse, tax forms and more.  This is like gold mining for identity thieves.
  5. Social Engineering:  This is where someone poses as a phone company, bank or institution representative in order to coax information directly from the victim.  It sounds absurd, but who would doubt the person who calls up from your bank to make sure you account is up to date.