Do You Know How To Prevent Identity Theft? - By: Lee McPherron

Identity theft is a fast growing crime that victimizes over ten million people each year. This crime cost you, me and everyone else billions of dollars in lost wages, savings, and time.
Identity theft is much more than some extra paper work for the victim, it is a life changing problem that just won't disappear as fast as your money.

Identity theft affect businesses as well as individuals.

There are continuing reports of security breaches, computer systems getting "hacked" and millions of personal records stolen from large and small corporations as well as government entities. These thefts cause individuals to cancel accounts, credit cards, and take other difficult frustrating measures to try to protect their assets.

Identity theft is fraud.

When someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, or other identifying information, without your permission, they have committed the crime of fraud. Fraud is a broad definition that ranges from stealing medical records to mortgage information. Identity theft also may include mail fraud, credit card theft, or check fraud.

Financial Identity Theft is the most common form of this crime.

The criminal may use your name and SSN to apply for credit cards, loans, on line purchases, or car leases. Generally the thief will use the stolen information or credit card to run up charges on the account. The account owner may not realize he has been the victim of a crime until months later.

Calls from a collection agency may be your first clue.

Victims of this crime may not realize they have been had until the collection agency calls begin to ring their phone. A bank may try to repossess a car that the victim knows nothing about. The police may contact the victim about a crime committed with his name. Identity thieves may use your personal information to rent an apartment or set up phone service and make thousands of dollars in long distance calls.

Prevention is the first step to avoiding identity theft.

Education and knowledge are the first line of defense against this crime. An understanding of the tactic and methods used by identity thieves can go a long way toward keeping your personal information out of the wrong hands.

Identity theft methods are common among these thieves.

Some very popular methods of stealing your personal information include, online "phishing"emails and spoof websites, mail theft, dumpster diving for discarded documents, and atm and credit card skimming.

Identity theft methods can be hard to spot if you don't know what to look for.

With a knowledge of some of the basic methods and a few precautions such as using a paper shredder for all your personal documents, you can be confident that you will be safe on line or at the department store.

Although a determined thief will take your information in spite of all your efforts to thwart his crime, by learning about the methods and tactics of the identity theft criminal, you can keep yourself safe from the casual or opportunistic criminal. Be aware of your surroundings and actions, monitor your credit card accounts regularly, and keep your personal information private.

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