Identify Theft Affects 1000's WeeklyPractically anyone can steal your identity. With your Social Security number, drivers license, and a fake credit card, anyone can commit identity theft and receive additional valid credit cards or debit cards in your name. With these identifying numbers anyone can quickly damage your credit. Your efforts to correct these problems can literally be exhausting! Identify Theft Affects 1,000 Every DayYou may be a victim of stolen identity and not even know it. Someone right now may be busy buying expensive items with credit cards they obtained in your name, by using your Social Security number and other pieces of personal identification. How easy is it to get false ID, steal your identity, and obtain fraudulent credit cards? A lot easier than you might think. Hundreds of databases already exist that contain detailed information about your personal life, your buying habits and other lifestyle characteristics. This information is not always secretly hidden away or hard to find. Important information you need to know is revealed below. How Easy is it to Get Personal Information? The amount of information available on the Internet about you and those you know is almost unbelievable. Various companies offer services that provide address, criminal, civil, and professional history as well as a list of assets and bank account numbers. Also available are the Social Security number, last six addresses, current phone number as well as names and phone numbers of neighbors. Some large, prestigious companies offering such information include Lexis-Nexis and West Publishing Company. Many smaller companies also provide similar services. This research used to take days. Today, this information is available in minutes with only a few click of your mouse. Here are economical products that can quickly uncover personal details. (NOTE: Before you look at these sites, determine if you have a personal use for a private investigator. Is there someone you are trying to find? These sites give you the tools and resources known only by private detectives--until now. You'll learn their tricks and investigative methods. OK, now look.)
Identity theft involves someone using key pieces of your identifying information in order to impersonate you. The usual purpose is to acquire goods or services in your name through the fraudulent use of credit or debit cards. The U.S. Postal Service agrees, calling it "one of the fastest growing robbery crimes in America." By one industry estimate, more than 1,000 people a day in the United States fall victim to crimes of stolen identity. In 1997 the U.S. Secret Service make 9,455 arrests involving identify fraud. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse there are over 400,000 thefts of identity each year with annual losses of more than $2 Billion. Identity theft is expanding at a rate of 50% per year. Your financial liability is limited to $50. But, your losses will include time and effort to remedy the effects of the theft. You may need to provide extensive documentation to clear up bad credit reports. Some have waited years to clear up fraudulent student loans and fraudulent credit accounts. Others needed to clear up criminal arrest and conviction records. The documents typically used to gather information to construct a fraudulent identity include:
Nearly any document can be created if the content and form is known. You can rapidly create a drivers license, and other documents to take on a new identity. You may be interested in visiting some sites that can rapidly produce necessary IDs that can allow criminals to establish fraudulent credit accounts in your name:
Identity theft may mean that your credit may not be what you think it is. Unpaid bills may be accumulating without your knowledge. You should obtain an annual report showing what is on your current credit record.
What You Can Do to Prevent Identity TheftContact your credit card issuers to inform them of the situation and cancel your credit cards. Call you banking institution to cancel your ATM card. You should have these phone numbers available to you for immediate use anywhere you travel. Report thefts of your Social Security number to the Social Security Administration (SSA). You can call the SSA Office at 1-800-269-0271 between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM Eastern time. Preventive Measures You Can Take
Other useful information about identity theft can be found at the following sites: Identity theft: Details from Bob Sherman Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
Please email your comments about this page to Bob Sherman Copyright © 2003 Robert Sherman Back to Character Education |
