Protecting Our Identity

Identity theft is when someone else assumes your personal information and poses as you. Therefore it’s not only just a question of stealing credit card numbers. There are several ways and places where your personal information can be stolen by the identity thieves.

There are four different categories of identity theft; they include business or commercial identity theft, identity cloning, criminal identity theft, and financial identity theft.

People use identity theft for different reasons. There are those who can use identity theft to blackmail someone, use it for terrorist activities, or illegal immigration. Identity cloning is mostly used for online credit card processing. Those who use identity theft for non financial purposes could use them to get attention for the victim’s achievement, which is also referred to as media identity theft.

Financial identity theft is mostly used for bank fraud whereby the identity thief is able to impersonate someone else and manage to obtain a loan from a financial institution by presenting all the accurate information of the victim to the bank, especially if the transaction is carried out online.

This type of crime is referred to as non-self-revealing and it’s quite common since the perpetrator doesn’t have to show his face. However, if the funds are released, the authorities can still be able to track down the criminal. Once the money is given, the financial institution is never paid back whereas the criminal keeps the money while the victim is accused of defaulting on a loan that was never authorized by the victim.

In cases of identity concealment and cloning, the criminal impersonates the victim by acquiring the victim’s personal identifiers for the sole reason of concealing himself from the authorities. This is mostly done by people working in foreign countries, a person who wants to avoid arrest or someone who wants to avoid other individuals or creditors.

This kind of identity theft crime is known to go on for a long period of time, and the perpetrator may go on to obtain fraudulent IDs that go as far as making the criminal more authentic .

Most of these criminals get the personal identifiers of their victims from dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, smart cards, or by infiltration of organizations that keep large amounts of personal information. Even social online network services that happen to expose the personal details of users can be an easy target for identity thieves.

When there is a serious breach of privacy, the possibility of a criminal getting your personal identifiers becomes much easier. As much as some of the personal identifiers are got through burglary or theft, the best strategy for potential victims is to protect themselves from such thieves by whatever means possible by ensuring that their personal information is safe and secure at all times. ?



By: Bill Protresi

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If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, then your first priority will be to act fast, very fast! It only takes a few minutes for somebody with your details to apply for a loan in your name, or to purchase something with your credit cards. The people you should first report to very much depends on the object that you think has been stolen to be used in a case of identity theft.

The faster you act, the higher the chances you have of minimizing the thief’s destruction to your life. For example, if you believe that a credit card has been stolen, then you should first attempt to inform the credit card company so your card can be cancelled and nothing can be purchased with it. Even if they do not have the Pin number to your card, they can still purchase things over the internet or by phone, and the quicker the card is cancelled, the more likely you are to keep your credit rating intact! If you have not noticed the credit card is missing, the thief could be using other ways to manipulate your bank, so when you suspect something is wrong, for example, by looking at financial records or bank statements, then you should contact the company as soon as you can. With quick communication, you will find that most companies will allow you to lower the liability for any financial losses.

When you have realized that you are becoming, or have become a victim of identity theft, you should contact the police. A police report is filed and therefore if any financial losses are noted, you have the back-up of being able to provide evidence that the card was stolen and it wasn’t you running up the bill! You should also try to inform, where possible, agencies that are in charge of keeping credit scores, for example, Experian and Equifax. If they have been notified that your details have been stolen and could be used in cases of identity theft, any loans or other applications made in your name will be refused. This way, you can expect not to have massive dents in your finances or credit scores.

If it is your Social Security Number that has been stolen, or that you believe is on part of the paperwork that has been misplaced, then you should contact the Social Security Administration. There you face the decision of changing your number, and there are people there that you can talk to, to best work out the situation.

Again, if your Drivers License has gone missing, you need to contact the authorities in charge of such a department and the same goes to if your address has been stolen. Notify the Postal Offices so that your address cannot be changed to receive goods purchased through your stolen card or bank details.

If you believe that you have been a victim of identity theft by way of criminal activity, then you need to either speak to your lawyer, or the Attorney General and again, file a report with the Police.

The only way to act if you think you have been a victim of identity theft is to act fast! It doesn’t matter what paperwork, or whatever has been stolen, notify everyone that you think the thief may have details of. It may even be wise to notify those that you aren’t sure of, just to be on the safe side. The more people that know, the more you will be protected and therefore, the more you can limit the damage caused!



By: Bernard Pragides

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The number of people falling victim to the identity theft is growing; when thousands of such complains are getting accumulated in the law enforcement department, thousands others are remaining unuttered. In most cases, the damages are done even before the victim realizes it. Once the crook is in possession of your personal information they can commit crimes on your name, can open new bank accounts, apply for new credit cards and can even cheat you for the insurance benefits as well.

As some may label it as the fastest growing form of white-collar crime the actual figure of identity theft victims is not known. The nature of the crime can range from fraudulent use of the credit cards to impersonation. In such cases, the identity theft insurance can ensure your peace of mind and people often don’t mind paying some extra money for protecting themselves form ‘falling a prey’ to it. One can now-a-days purchase the identity theft insurance as a stand-alone plan or can add it as a rider to their homeowners policy as well. But before buying the policy you may wish to know what the insurer actually covers under the identity theft plan.

The coverage offered by the policy:

People often feel that they are actually covered for the entire monetary loss that they have suffered in the scam. But unlikely, the identity theft policy only covers the expenses that the victim incurs during the restoration process of the damages. However, the benefits can vary form policy to policy but you may receive coverages for the following:

•expenses of making phone calls

•mailing expenses (you may require to mail your documents to the authorities in order to repair the damages done to your credit report and other)

•the legal expenses

Hence, if you are planning to buy one, you should ask the agent to explain the coverages offered by the policy. Another factor that you need to look for is the amount of deductible applicable to the plan. Higher the value of the deductible, lower will be your premium, but you may find it unworthy to turn the claim to the insurance company after paying the deductibles yourself.

Protect yourself form the identity-thieves

However, as prevention always scores above the cure, you can actually stay out of trouble by practicing the simple steps mentioned below,

Guard your personal information: never disclose your personal information like-credit card number, bank account details, social security number and so forth to any entity not known to you. Always ask them to identify themselves before handing over any information to them.

Maintain a call log: you can maintain a call log containing the names and the numbers of the persons who have requested you for the information.

Don’t get lured by the promotional offers: this is a very easy way to fall prey to the fraudsters. Never respond to such mails or phone calls. Phishing is another way to acquire information. Therefore, be careful in responding to e-mails requiring you to reveal your personal information.

Ask for the free credit report at intervals: as you may know it already that you can receive a free copy of your credit report form the credit bureaus once in a year, scan through it for the spurious transactions.

Check your monthly credit card and bank statements: this is another way to track the transactions and dealings that you haven’t made. The insurance can buy you the peace of mind but it can’t protect you form becoming a victim of identity theft. Stay aware in order to stay safe.



By: Joyeeta Sinharay

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Basics of security and protecting yourself online

Internet security, identity theft and fraud have become major issues recently as more people globally obtain access to the Internet. With the decrease in barriers to entry, i.e. lower webhosting costs, widespread highspeed and wireless Internet access, and website contruction software that truly enables anyone to create a website, the online players and number of new websites are increasing exponentially. With this increase comes a flood of new websites from countries around the world with various languages and business and regulatory environments. The question for the Internet user becomes, which of these websites can be trusted when making online purchases and revealing personal information to an unknown party?

Online fraud in auctions, advance fee fraud and romance scams, lottery and phishing emails, credit card and identity theft totalled well over $2B USD in 2006. The number is expected to increase in 2007 despite efforts to curb the trend. Criminals carry out the operations from countries all over the world, but many work from Internet cafes in corrupt countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. The truth is, however, nearly all countries in the world have criminals involved in this new crime. It is estimated that over 60% of all Internet users express privacy and trust concerns when shopping or providing personal information over the web, or over 1 billion people worldwide. How can you protect yourself from this growing crime? We provide some safety tips.

Search the Web for reviews, posts and information.

By searching Google and Yahoo for the company or website name, chances are excellent you can find reviews or at least comments from other users and customers. If not, try searching the Rip Off Report to see if the company has had a history of complaints. Sill no information? Try using Yahoo Answers to ask if anyone has any information on the site. If after these attempts little or no information is known about the site, chances are the website is new or a very small operation. In other words, the risk is higher as the company or website has yet to establish its brand and online reputation. Next, a look at the actual site.

Look for privacy policies and privacy associations.

The first step when judging an unknown website should be viewing its privacy policy. If the site has no privacy policy, consider it a questionable operation and move on. Reading the entire privacy policy and legal verbage isn’t necessay, but do scan the document to see if the site or company appears to take privacy matters seriously. Truste is a non-profit group which offers its website seal to those sites which comply with their strict standards. If the website in question has this seal, chances are the website and or company takes the matter seriously with adequate steps to inform site visitors and protect your private information.

Check for security seals on the site like Hacker Safe.

If a website has a major security seal such as ScanAlert’s Hacker Safe seal, visitors to that site know that the company or website has taken steps to protect users and customers from credit card fraud and identity theft. Although there are no guarantees, there is no comparison between a site with such a security seal and one without this safeguard. The Hacker Safe seal indicates the site is scanned daily to ensure the site meets strict security standards of secure website design and server applications.

Demand site encryption for personal information.

To protect personal information trasmission, such as credit card payments or home telephone and address data, a well designed and safe Internet website should have SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption of at least 128 bit. What does this mean? This indicates the website uses technology which ecrypts your personal data when being trasmitted from the website to its servers, and is therefore extremely difficult to intercept or steal. A major company offering this service is VeriSign and having the seal indicates that the site, or portions of the site are encrypted. There are many competitors, however, and as long as the yellow lock shows on the bottom right hand side of the browser, visitors to a website know that such a site page is being encrypted.

A website example of how it all looks and works.

Wymoo International makes a good case presentation of how all these elements come together to protect website visitors and customers. These same principles that a website is properly designed and maintained, however, can and should be applied to other websites when the choice is being made to do business via a website, or even to supply basic personal information. From viewing Wymoo’s home page, we see on the bottom left hand corner the Hacker Safe and Truste seals. By clicking on either seal, visitors and potential customers can verify that the site is in current compliance with each online security group. On Wymoo’s Free Quote page, visitors again see the Hacker Safe and Truste seals, but on the bottom right of the browser, there is the yellow lock indicating the page is encrypted. Also on the page are links to the privacy and data security policy. This is a good example of what to look for in quality e-commerce websites.

Lastly, there is no way to ensure 100% safety while shopping or providing personal information on the Internet. There are many steps you can take to judge whether or not the website is legitimate and offers protection from identity theft and credit card fraud. Research the company or website reputation on Yahoo and Google. Look for security and privacy seals such as HackerSafe and Truste. Check for website encryption (the yellow lock) on pages where you submit your private information. Lastly, make payments with a major credit card. In the event of fraud, your credit card company may reverse the charge.

Play it safe,

A. Hathaway



By: A. Hathaway

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This whole identity theft thing gives you the creeps, right? You’re not only infuriated by, but terrified of the thought of somebody sifting through your trash, brazenly stealing your mail, or hijacking your wallet not for your money so much as your social security number. You may even feel helpless.

While identity theft is a serious issue, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of being an identity theft victim. The following is a list of just a few things you can do to protect your identity:

? Either purchase a locking mailbox or have a mail slot installed. For even more security, considered getting a post office box. An unlocked mailbox provides access to extremely valuable information. Consider it this way, which is worth more: your $2,000 big screen TV or the account number and corresponding information of your Visa card with a $10,000 credit limit? You don’t leave your front door unlocked because you don’t want somebody to steal your TV, right? So, why is your mailbox unlocked?

? Shred all financial documents (bank statements, credit card statements, loan statements, receipts, etc.) and anything with your name or other identifying information not once, but twice! Run the document through your shredder and hand tear the shredded material in different directions. Now divide up the shredded remains into multiple trash bags. Ultra paranoid? Burn everything. Seriously.

? Treat your social security number as though it were your child. Protect it at most costs (all costs may be just a little excessive…better to be alive and an ID theft victim than a dead man with a safe identity). Don’t freely give it out. Ask for alternatives, if possible. I’d give out my social security number to obtain a loan. I wouldn’t give it out to buy an ice cream cone. A ridiculous example, but it illustrates the point. Don’t write your social security number on checks. Don’t let the bank teller do it either. While she’s just trying to cover her butt, she’s exposing yours.

? Don’t give any information to telemarketers. Period. There are other ways to get a good price on magazine subscriptions or to make donations to charity. The same thing goes for spam emails, but you don’t open those, right?

? Speaking of emails, don’t click on emails from people you don’t know. Don’t click on emails from people you know when the subject of the email doesn’t make sense or says something the sender would never say. It probably contains a virus, possibly one designed to poke through your computer files and steal passwords and account numbers. You have a spam filter. Use it.

? Yes, you do need that $60 annual anti-virus/internet security subscription, especially if you are very internet-active or have children. Hackers and virus designers work day and night, minute by minute, to swindle you out of your money, resources and identity information. This is one area where you don’t want to go cheap. $60 per year is much less than the cost of a new computer or repairing your credit. By the way, keep these programs up to date. Most can be set to automatically update when you are least likely to be using your computer, such as late at night.

? Be smart about your passwords. It can be a hassle, but passwords that involve your name, your spouse’s name, your birthday, or your favorite sports teams are virtually worthless. A random combination of letters and numbers is best. Do you really want to throw off the identity thieves? Smash your hand into your keyboard. The result is your new password. Keep a file on your computer in a secure location with the password in it and copy and paste the password when you need it. Just be sure to copy something else when you’re done to clear the password from your clipboard. Or you can handwrite your hand-smashed result in a notebook and copy it when you need it. Inconvenience is the ultimate price of security.

Don’t let the identity thieves get you down. The most important thing you can do is be aware of what information you are giving out and who you are giving it to. All it takes is a little conscious effort to limit your risk of identity theft.



By: Dan Riffle

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Computer identity theft cases normally take various forms. They mostly target people who are most vulnerable, for example senior citizens and children. Computer identity theft cases may for example take the form of an individual who pretends to be an agent of the federal tax authority. He identifies himself as a tax agent and requests you to send your social security number to him.

Such messages are normally sent to people’s inboxes. Some people do not think that they can be victims of online identity theft thus they do not normally take the necessary precautions. If you respond to such messages that are supposedly from online tax agents, your details will be used to operate several credit cards and sometimes withdrawing money from your bank account.

These activities may make you bankrupt. Computer identity theft cases are normally planned and executed by highly ingenious individuals. They sometimes design websites that look exactly like other original company websites. The only difference is that they provide a link to another web page which will usually require you to upload your personal data.

It is the personal data that they use to carry out computer identity theft. Computer identity theft cases have increased over the years according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission. The number of computer identity theft cases is doubling each year. A research carried out two years ago showed that approximately fifteen million Americans were victims of computer identity theft cases in a year.

The computer identity theft victims lose more money than they are getting. The effects of the computer identity theft cases on the economy are enormous because they run into billions of dollars. The computer identity thieves are very fast in their act and it is thus very difficult to catch up with them. The only option therefore is to try as much as possible to minimize its chances.

One of the most effective ways of preventing computer identity theft cases is by using identity theft protection service. These services takes a proactive approach to computer identity theft. It is thus a sure way of minimizing computer identity theft cases. The advantage of identity theft protection service is that it can be used across the board by either individuals or companies that may suffer from computer identity theft cases.

Individuals who would like to prevent themselves from suffering huge loses through computer identity theft have to register as members. The benefits that will accrue to you might leave you wondering why this system was not discovered earlier.

It is always good to guarantee your name through safe and tested methods. Otherwise, the costs of trying to redeem it after being a victim of computer identity theft might be very costly.



By: Bill Protresi

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According to the FBI identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States and is probably going to get worse as technology grows. Identity thieves rob more than 500,000 Americans every year. Your credit can be damaged, and fixing it can cost you hundreds of dollars and take hundreds of hours of your time. You might become a victim if you don’t take steps to protect yourself!

Here are seven ways you can reduce your risk of identity theft.

Guard Your Social Security Number

Your Social Security number is the key to your credit report and banking accounts – and is the prime target of criminals. Never print your Social Security number on checks. Don’t use them as passwords for your online accounts.

Monitor Your Credit Report

Your credit report contains your Social Security number and your present and past employers. With this information alone someone can often get credit in your name. For instance, store credit card applications usually just ask for your social security number, current address employer.

After applying for a loan, rental or anything else that requires a credit report request that your Social Security number be completely obliterated and your credit report be shredded. A lender or rental manager only needs to retain your name and credit score to justify their decision.

After you apply for store credit pull your credit report. Store employees have access to the applications which contain all the information they need to steal your credit!

Shred All Old Bank And Credit Statements And Write “Junk Mail” Across The Credit Card Offer Applications You Receive In The Mail Before Trashing Them

It is best to use a crosscut shredder for this. These shredders sometimes cost a few dollars more but they are better.

Better yet, apply for the LifeLock service. For just $10 a month they will see that you are removed from most junk mail lists so that you won’t get the “you’re pre-approved” applications in the mail any more.

Do Not Mail Bill Payments And Checks From Home

These can be easily stolen from your mailbox. Modern thieves have developed a method of washing them clean in chemicals and then putting any amount on them choose. Take them directly to the Post Office, mail them from your place of employment or drop them directly into a mailbox.

Always Check The Current Charges On Your Credit Card Statements Before Paying Them. Cancel Unused Credit Cards

It doesn’t hurt to have at least 3 credit cards for emergencies. Anything more than that is excessive and you should think about cancelling them. Cancel the newest ones first though, as credit history is important to your credit score so keeping older cards shows longevity and reflects better on your score.

Never Give Your Credit Card Number Or Personal Information Over The Phone

Unless you initiated the call and trust that business.

There are many other ways to protect yourself but the most important thing is to use common sense. Trust no one when it comes to your identity and keep yourself protected!



By: Dewey Kearney

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It seems that nothing in this world is safe anymore as more and more people understand the need for identity theft prevention. Most people go about this through credit monitoring but some people find that more drastic steps need to be taken. In order to truly be good at identity theft prevention, you almost have to become paranoid to an extent in order to protect yourself and your credit. You have to be very careful with the way you do things because thieves are just about everywhere you look.

Identity theft prevention is about being two steps ahead of the criminals that are trying to steal your identity. The purposes for the thieves wanting your identity vary depending on whom it is you are dealing with. But either way, identity theft is a crime and if it happens to you it can truly mess up your entire life. Whether you try to buy a house, a car, or get a credit card, the mess left behind from a thief can take months, and in some cases, years to get cleared up. This is why identity theft prevention is so important in the first place so that you are not faced with such issues later down the road.

Steps You Can Take

While these steps may seem a little over the top, it is the only sure fire way to make sure that you are not scammed. Being good at identity theft prevention means that you are securing your financial future. First thing to think about is identity theft prevention over the Internet since we, as consumers, seem to buy so many things online. Because of the way the web is set up, it is so easy for a criminal to steal your personal banking or credit card information and pretend to be you in order to get what they want. So instead of using your major credit card or bankcard, it is advisable to use a third party payment system in order to protect yourself.

Also, it is important to make sure that you always are looking closely at the machines that you swipe your card through at the stores. If there is something that looks odd or out of place attached to the machine, do not run your card through it, as it may be a device to steal your information. Make sure that you never carry your social security card in your wallet as well because if that information gets out, anyone can get a credit card in your name. Identity theft prevention is all about being aware of what is going on and keeping your eyes open for things that are out of place. It is completely up to you to make sure that your identity is protected.



By: Bill Protresi

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