Protecting Our Identity

“One significant thing that I can be proud about myself is none other than my identity. I was born unique from all other people. I was given name by my proud parents, I struggle hard for my bank accounts, I’ll be expecting a lot of benefits with my $$$ when I arrive at my retirement age.

So, what do you think my life be like if someone steals all of my wealth, my identity? I will feel so disgusted. Identity theft is my greatest fear.”

“I do not want to grow old and have nothing left for me. Let us all join together in fighting against identity theft because the thieves do not deserve a place in our society!”

Did you hear the statement? US citizens demand the security of their identity. The main reason behind is the continuous existence of identity theft.

This crime is a grave threat to the personal information and property of the citizens. They want all possible actions to combat this crime.

As much as possible, you should take every precaution to protect your identity. Once you have settled your identity, you can ensure that you will be out of risk from the identity thieves.

If only there was a way to trace the origin or the person who discovered the tricks of identity fraud, the entire population would surely condemn that person because of the suffering it has brought them.

From an individual to a group of persons who promoted identity theft, the idea was later handed to other people.

Starting on that point, identity theft fraud spread out. Until now, the Bureau of Investigation finds it quite a difficult problem to eradicate.

The thieves use several unpredictable strategies to operate this crime. This makes it hard for the investigators to identify the thieves.

Aside from personal business transactions, identity theft fraud is also flourishing on the web. You need to be meticulous about the websites that are usually selling highly demand items.

Most of the items such as the iPods and the high-tech cellular phones are sold at minimal prices. Sometimes, the site also bargains the product for almost free to the subscribers.

What kind of operation does the identity theft fraud carry on over the Web? Be careful and read the page properly so that you will not be the next victim of the fraud.

Oftentimes, majority of the previous victims are advised to pay nothing until they receive the item that they are going to purchase.

Then, the person who is behind the scam will use the name of the victim and an account number of another person to pay for the original price of the item to the legitimate website.

In other words, the moment that the customer pays for the item, the money will directly go to scammer. The scammer can now present to you a valid receipt coming from the legitimate website who receives the actual payment from the account of another person.

On the other hand, there is also identity theft fraud that occurs using your e-mail. Listen, this is being addressed to those end-users who dedicate much of their time in surfing the Net.

Somebody who claims to be from your credit company can send you a message in various forms. The scammer will ask to give all the personal data regarding your account as they site you different reasons.

One reason they may give is they need the information about your account because their database may crash anytime. The scammer can also reason out that you need to do this to protect your account.

After you are convinced to give all your personal information, the scammer now has the power to do you some great damage. He can use this information for fraudulent transactions. He can also make withdrawals from your account with your seeming consent.

See. This is how identity theft fraud works. It can bring you so many problems, even more than what you think.



By: Lucas Heijn

About the Author:

Create a video blog…instantly.

What exactly is credit card identity theft, how is it used and how can you prevent it? In this article we will look at ten facts you need to know about credit card identity theft in order to better protect yourself and prevent the loss of substantial amounts of money.

The first fact that we want to look at is that for credit card identity theft to occur someone does not necessarily need to steal your credit card. Credit card identity theft occurs in one of three ways – they can steal your card, copy the details off your credit card or steal your PIN. In the last two cases you may not even realize that something is wrong until it is too late, you still have your credit card and so don’t realize that important information has actually already been extracted. The thief may have copied down your credit card information while you weren’t looking, or they may have just noticed you entering your PIN when you drew money from an ATM and made a note of it without you realizing it.

Secondly, credit card identity theft can occur through someone signing up for a credit card in your name. They will have obtained your details obviously through some method (maybe some mail stolen out of your postbox) and all they do is give a change of address, sign up for a new card and start spending on it. When they don’t pay it is you the credit card issuer will be contacting and you will suddenly find yourself faced with masses of debt that someone else has accumulated on their spending sprees.

No one is ever 100% secure from credit card identity theft. Unfortunately there will always be credit card identity theft and people who do this are very sneaky and know what they are doing. Also, the fact that identity theft may occur through simply through stealing mail you never know when this may happen. The best you can do is to put systems in place to help protect yourself and be ready to take action if anything should occur. For more info see http://www.preventidentitythefthelp.com/Identity_Theft_Shield/

Another interesting fact is that currently most credit card identity theft is happening in stores and not over the internet. Many people feel that giving out your credit card details over the internet is insecure, but what they may not realize is that you are actually more likely to have your credit card details stolen in stores than over the internet. This does not mean that you should be careless with your details on the internet, but simply that you should be just as careful at stores.

Lastly, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. One of the categories of identity theft is credit card identity theft and as such it is important that you learn as much as you can about this subject and what you can do to protect yourself.

In conclusion, identity theft and credit card identity theft as a part of that, is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Credit card identity theft can occur in a number of ways and no one is ever 100% secure from being a victim of credit card identity theft. As such it is important that everyone learn as much as possible about this subject in order to be able to protect themselves.



By: Amanda Fain

About the Author:

Content - Members-Only Content for WordPress

The history of identity theft is something that you should really know about, especially in the world of today where identity theft is a huge and in fact growing problem. Identity theft happens to hundreds of people each day, and so you are going to want to learn about the history of identity theft as well as how to try and protect yourself against identity theft in general.

More About the History of Identity Theft

There is much to learn about in regards to the history of identity theft, and in particular, you should know that the history of identity theft goes back a long time. Many people seem to think that identity theft is an issue that only really came to be important as of rather recently, but this is not true at all.

Identity theft has taken place for a long time now, however with the technologically advanced world that we live in now, it is happening that much more now, and it is also much easier for people to commit identity theft acts. After all, you consider how much time the average person spends on the computer, as well as how the average person has at least one credit card, and you can see two major reasons as to why identity theft is more common now than ever before.

You do not have to be a victim to identity theft however, and there are several steps in particular that you can take in order to try and protect yourself against identity theft as much as possible. One of the first things that you are going to want to do is make sure that you do not have more credit cards than you need, and so if you have more than one, pick one that you want to keep and cut up the rest.

You are also going to want to make sure that when you throw out pieces of your mail that you cut it up or rip it up, so that people cannot go through your mail and find out personal information about you. This is especially important with mail from your bank for instance, as people can easily steal your identity with this type of information.

There are many different ways that you can protect yourself against this sort of thing, and so you want to make sure that you are as knowledgeable and as informed as you can be so that you can take the best steps possible in regards to protecting yourself against identity theft.



By: Ann Marier

About the Author:

Website content

Celebrities are not immune to identity theft. In fact, identity thieves often target them because of their perceived wealth and status. Some of the celebrities who have been identity theft victims include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor Will Smith. Learn more and get some identity theft protection tips you can use even if you aren’t a celebrity.

Mayor Bloomberg’s Identity Fraud Disaster

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has fallen victim to celebrity identity fraud. Two identity thieves forged checks on the mayor’s checking account, to the tune of $10,000! The celebrity identity fraud victim’s nightmare ended when the crooks got greedy. They tried to cash checks totaling more than $400,000 and they got busted during identity verification. The two men, Charles Nelson and Odalis Bostic, were charged with grand larceny and Nelson was also charged with identity theft.

Will Smith Becomes a Celebrity Identity Theft Victim

Movie hero Will Smith became a victim of identity theft when a man used Smith’s identity to open more than a dozen credit card accounts in Pittsburgh. The man ran up $33,000 in credit card charges before he was apprehended. At the time of his arrest, the thief was already on probation for identity theft crimes — against another celebrity victim! The man had already spent more than $80,000 on a credit card in basketball player Steve Smith’s name.

Credit Monitoring Prevents Identity Theft

You don’t have to be a celebrity to get world-class identity theft protection. A credit monitoring service provides you with updates and information about your credit history and credit score and immediately notifies you about suspicious behavior on your accounts. Your credit monitoring service will provide you with information about new accounts opened in your name and also will alert you when creditors request information about your credit history, which may indicate potential identity theft.



By: Lisa Nichols

About the Author:

Content for WordPress

Are there really safety nets that protect you from credit card fraud?

Identity card theft has cost millions of Americans about $5 billion. The worst thing about identity card theft is that you don’t realize the crime is being done to you until you get your bills. And until then, it will be too late to do something about the theft and there is little consolation for those whose identities have been stolen.

Identity theft happens when another person has access to your personal information and then use these in fraudulent acts. Your name, credit card account, and other things that are used to identify you are used to pay for the thief’s purchases and bills. Most of these transactions go unnoticed at first; a small fee for a couple of items from the grocery store and then it balloons into something bigger like a fee for classes that you don’t even take.

Most banks have taken steps in assuring their clients that their accounts are secure and safe from fraud and theft, however, you should not just rely on these assurances. Take for example a prank from Zug that tested a store’s measures against credit card identity theft has proven the system very very faulty. If a prankster can get away with purchases by using crazy signatures, that means that stores don’t really check if the signature on the card matches the one on the receipt. If your credit card was stolen and you didn’t realize it until the end of the day, everything that the thief has bought and paid for will be charged to your account.

And yet in another prank (or maybe an attempt to prove how lax credit card identity security is,) it’s shown how name of those who sign for the purchase aren’t really checked! Sure, it’s funny that a guy can get away with buying stuf and then paying for them signed with strange phrases, but what does this say about the safety of your information and the effort banks and other establishments make in order to protect your information?

According to banks, you should take care of your own credit card identity safety. There are several sites, blogs, and how-to’s in preventing identity card theft but what do the credit card companies and their affiliates do to protect you? Granted that you’d hold your end of the deal and do everything to protect your personal information, what happens if your card is stolen before you realize it?

The pranks may be really funny but it paints us reality: credit card thieves could get away with several purchases without being noticed. As far as credit card security goes, keep personal information to yourself and keep your credit card under lock and key. Don’t leave the information lying around and don’t write it in your planner or address book since these items can get lost or stolen. The best thing to do is to write or print all of your passwords and information and store them in a safe with the key left in your drawer at home.



By: Shelah Jenkins

About the Author:

Content for WordPress

Identity Theft is now the number one crime in the entire world. It is estimated that $221 billion a year is lost by businesses worldwide due to identity theft. Cyber crime units now analyze 2,000 to 3,000 new viruses per hour. Much of the malware harvests financial and personal data sold to groups who turn it into cash through identity fraud.

One simple toll-free telephone call can block 99.9% of personal exposure to Identity Theft. Aside from expediency of commerce, it’s shocking that legislation has not been enacted to automatically force this common action without the consumer having to make the call.

Every 3 Seconds someone becomes a victim of Identity Theft, 20 lives ruined every minute, 1200 every hour, 28,800 every day, 201,600 every month, and 2,419,200 every year. The impact on the individual is staggering with thousands of dollars in costs and dozens of hours wasted trying to deal with the personal devastation. It could all have been avoided with one simple telephone call.

On an individual level, how does one become a victim of Identity Theft? And most importantly, how can we avoid becoming a victim of this prevalent crime? The odds are clearly stacked against society, our personal information is readily available in this high technology world.

Just as we use firewalls and virus protection programs for our computer health, we need to closely examine the anatomy of this crime of opportunity. What protections are available to insulate us against the potential damage from stolen personal idenitity information?

Many of us may already be victims of Identity Theft and don’t know it yet, or the impact of the fraud has yet to be perpetuated or discovered. Remember those special event tickets you bought, or the hotel reservation, car rental, or airline flight reservation call you made?

Have you ever purchased an automobile and filled out a loan application? How about an application for a cell phone, a store credit card, or an application for an apartment rental? What about a school, personal or equity loan?

Remember all of the information you probably provided? You most likely gave your credit card details, or birth date, social security number, address, bank account references, employment information and/or phone number.

Now ask yourself a few questions … Who has access to all of that information? Do you know them? Do you trust them? What’s to stop them from selling or misusing that data?

It’s a scary proposition, but right now there are probably several file cabinets or computer storage files in different places of business that house enough of your personal information to allow for an easy theft of your identity. It’s a fact of life, we’re ALL vulnerable. But you can easily block the use of that information. You’ll see how in just a moment, but first …

How does information theft become Identity Theft?

Stealing your personal information is only the first step in the criminal process. Once the information is gathered, the thief must then convert that information into a means by which he or she can profit.

One popular method is to simply call one of your credit card companies posing as you and change the billing address for the card and then begin making a series of purchases. Identity Theft perpetrators don’t even need your credit card, they can simply call and have a duplicate card issued. They can establish utility, cable, or cell phone service in your name. Some even obtain leases, car loans and more.

In one recent case, a local bank in Montgomery County, Maryland USA issued a check for $100,000 for an equity loan on a home. The entire transaction was recorded on bank cameras as the check was handed to an impersonator of the home’s actual owner. And that was the second time it happened to the same victim who was exonerated by authorities as an accomplice in the case.

Identity theft ruins lives. It creates a seemingly infinite number of short term problems that turn into a nightmare that can linger for decades. Don’t assume that it can’t happen to you.

ATMs are one the latest points of attack. Thieves have developed credit cards that can temporarily program any ATM machine to copy the magnetic data off of your credit or debit card when you use the machine. This method has effectively collected hundreds of victims in the course of a single weekend from a single machine.

Identity thieves also use handheld magnetic card readers that can be easily purchased right on the internet. Culprits include waiters and waitresses, store clerks, toll booth collectors, and gas station attendants to name a few.

64% of all fraud complaints involve identity theft and it’s not just credit cards. With your personal information, thieves can open bank accounts, order checks and run up huge debt by writing bad checks in your name. Identity thieves have become so creative and talented that most protections schemes can be thwarted.

So what’s the answer? Credit monitoring services like those offered by the credit bureau agencies? Simply put, that’s like having an alarm to alert you after you’ve been ripped off.

The solution is clear, placing a Fraud Alert on your credit profile with the primary credit bureau agencies will block 99.9% of attempts to use your personal information for credit without your permission. Fraud Alerts require direct contact with you before an account can be opened or credit extended in your name. They can be put in place for a period of 90 days and can be renewed every three months.

Unlike fraud alerts, the alternative Credit Freeze option remains in place indefinitely and no credit of any kind can be issued in your name until you take the required steps to remove the freeze.

Just one telephone call is all it takes to any of the primary credit bureaus in the United States:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Identity Theft is not the only problem in using credit. Inside the complex credit system there are credit robbers. Some of your most trusted creditors are damaging your credit scores and credit rating without your knowledge.

But that’s a story for another article, for now you would be well advised to immediately place a Fraud Alert on your credit profile with any of the credit bureau agencies. Then be sure to update that order every 90 days. It’s the best way to avoid becoming an Identity Theft victim.



By: Robert Miller

About the Author:

Create a video blog…instantly.

Over nine million people each year report that they are the victim of some type of identity theft. As criminals continue to find new ways of committing fraud, we must also continue to remain diligent about protecting our personal information.

As more and more people use credit cards and debit cards to shop or pay bills, it’s getting easier for thieves to steal sensitive information as well as completely assuming someone’s identity. Here are four simple ways to protect your identity and your hard earned money.

1. Use common sense.

Never give out your debit card number over the telephone, especially if you weren’t the one who initiated the call, unless you are dealing with a trusted company that you are familiar and comfortable with.

Limit the amount of cards you carry with you, and keep all of your receipts in a safe place. Never throw any type of receipts in the trash near the ATM machine or a public trash container.

2. Sign up for online banking.

Enroll in your bank’s online banking program so that you have easy and immediate access to your accounts at all times. The sooner you’re able to report fraud to your financial institution, the quicker you’ll be able to put a freeze on your accounts and stop them from doing more damage with your debit card.

3. Use caution shopping online.

While there are thousands and thousands of reputable merchants doing business online, there’s still need for caution when using your debit card to shop on the internet. Of course, it’s just as important to be careful anytime you use your debit card, not just while shopping on the web.

Disreputable store owners and dishonest clerks have been known to use a device called a “skimmer” which reads the information stored on your debit card’s magnetic strip. Your account’s information is then downloaded to a computer while the thieves then create new accounts in your name and go shopping with your money.

4. Check your credit report yearly.

Under federal law you are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the three credit bureaus, which are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you suspect your identity has been compromised as the result of your debit or credit cards being stolen, your credit report is very helpful as it will show detailed information including accounts that weren’t opened by you, or charges and inquiries that you never authorized.

Checking your credit report regularly make it easier for you to take care of any potential problems and watch for fraudulent activity. And subscribe to helpful blogs that focus on identity theft news so that you can keep up with the latest alerts and news to be safe and stay safe.

Help others you know online as well. Share helpful articles and send links to helpful sites and blogs. Help each other be on the alert and watch each other’s backs. Be safe and stay safe. It’s all about identity theft protection.



By: Bernard Pragides

About the Author:

Create a video blog…instantly.

These days, you can hardly open the paper or turn on the TV without seeing articles and documentaries warning about the imminent danger of identity theft. And, even though journalists are currently having a feeding frenzy on the subject, most will be hard pressed to publish case studies, or report cases coming before the courts.

However, despite the apparent boom in identity theft crime, less than a handful of cases have been followed up by police action. From the cases recorded at the National Identity Theft Assistance Centre, only one has been pursued to the point of prosecution, and none has ever reached the courts. Losses reported from more common credit card fraud and card thefts are much bigger than from identity theft. So, is it as big a threat as it would seem, or is it just another example of media hysteria?

The hype surrounding the growth of identity theft has caused an explosion in the availability of protection products in the UK. Some credit card companies provide help services as a free part of their care package, while others have been quick to exploit the commercial benefit of selling subscriptions to various products that offer protection. Typically these are sold as opt-ins on application forms or by outbound telemarketing, with companies charging as much as £84 per annum for identity theft insurance, advice and credit file monitoring.

However, there are easier and more economic ways of protecting yourself against identity theft, which isn’t a big a problem as the media would have you believe. In the US consumers regularly check their credit reports as they are aware that this is where you would see the first indication of any identity theft activity. Every credit application leaves a search footprint and most loans and cards are reported, providing an audit trail for a consumer to spot anything unusual against their name. This practice is now catching on the UK where in 1974 the Consumer Credit Act gave everyone the right to obtain a copy of their credit report by sending £1 to a credit reference agency. In 2007, this sum has now risen to £2 and last year, over 1.8 million people applied in writing to one of the three UK credit reference agencies for their credit file, with most receiving a paper based report within 7 working days.

With the advent of the internet, online credit file reporting is on the increase. The benefits of online presentation of data over paper files are numerous. Online credit reports are delivered more quickly; leave a better audit trail; are more secure; can be stored and compared more easily. Moreover, information can be presented to the consumer with appropriate and consistent explanatory messages alongside each element of the report. So any consumer who finds errors on their credit file will find it easier to correct them and help improve the overall data quality of their records. The more accurate their records the better the consistency of lending decisions for credit.

But, the real benefit for all of us is that by regularly checking our own credit files, not only can we correct erroneous information against our name, we will be quickly alerted to any attempt of identity fraud. That is certainly a more pro-active and cheaper alternative to expensive protection offered by many credit card companies. Plus, if we all regularly checked our own credit files all the horror stories about identity theft would be just that – stories.



By: Adam Singleton

About the Author:

Create a video blog

There is actually much different information that you need to know about when it comes to the statistics on identity theft, and if you understand how big of an issue identity theft is nowadays, than you thus surely understand how important it is to know about the statistics on identity theft. The statistics on identity theft have always been rather high, but especially more so as of recently, and there are many different reasons for this.

Reasons why the Statistics on Identity Theft Have Increased so Dramatically

There are many different reasons as to why the statistics on identity theft have increased so dramatically over the years, especially as of recently, and one of the main reasons is because of how technologically advanced the world is today. What with the massive use of computers and the Internet in the world of today, it is so much easier for people to be able to steal someone else’s identity.

As well, we all tend to put our personal information out on the Internet, often times not even thinking twice about it, and this is a huge problem, especially if the site that we are putting our information out on is not privacy protected. Basically this means that it is that much easier for hackers to log onto the site and then steal your personal information when you enter it in.

This is why you need to take all the precautions that you can, so that you can protect yourself as much as you can, and so that you will be as aware and as informed as possible. Make sure that you take the time to make yourself as acknowledged on this whole situation as you can, because only when you know what you are talking about will you be able to properly protect yourself against identity theft.

Doing research is a great idea in this regards, and one of the best things that you can do is go onto the Internet, as the speed and efficiency of the Internet allows you to be able to quickly and easily find exactly what it is that you are looking for. Just make sure that you have patience and take your time and do not get frustrated, so that you can come up with the best results and so that you will be that much more protected against something such as identity theft.



By: Ann Marier

About the Author:

Content