Credit Identity Theft
Written by Martin on November 15, 2007 – 11:29 am -Guide to Preventing Credit Identity Theft
Credit identity theft is becoming a growing concern, which can create a lot of unnecessary frustration and aggravation that can be avoided if you take a few basic steps to ensure that your identity and credit cards are always handled safely. Here you will find a few steps to guarding you identity and credit cards in order to avoid the possibility of credit identity theft in the future. The people who are targeted are the ones that are in a hurry usually with many packages in hand at the grocery store, post office or bank and are trying to do everything on the run as they generally forget the most important thing, wallet, credit card or the form where they wrote down all their details from which the credit identity theft can be done with ease. Older folks are also the targets of credit identity thieves, as they tend to forget or misplace things more often.
However, the most popular place of credit identity theft is the Internet where hackers will get into your account and thus find out all your personal details from name, address to social security number and bank account. Internet is a place where everyone is targeted irrelevant of the age group.
How to Prevent Credit Identity Theft
The only way to prevent credit identity theft is to safe guard your credit cards by placing them in your bag directly or a place other then your wallet/purse in order not to be tempted to forget it on the counter when you pay and/or if your purse/wallet is stolen you will not loose everything. Keep photocopies of your credit cards, driver’s license and any other document that you carry in your wallet or purse. On your computer you must have security installed that will create special firewall for phishing and hacking your personal data especially if you do your banking on the computer.
In Case You Are a Victim of Credit Identity Theft
The first thing you must to do is report what you lost such as credit cards or if you observed a charge that was done on your credit card, which you did not make. Ask your bank to keep a watch on your credit card expenses and you do as well and if another item gets charged which you are not aware about cancel you card right away; your bank may suggest you cancel you card as soon as you report a charge that you have not done anyway. Keep handy your bank phone numbers so you can call them from wherever you are, in case you are on a trip and not in your own home.
Posted in Identity Theft | No Comments »
History of Identity Theft
Written by Martin on November 2, 2007 – 3:55 pm -History of Identity Theft – A Few Insights on How It All Started
The history of identity theft goes long back before computer era. There are millions of examples where embezzlement of money had been carried out by bank functionaries using the information they had at their disposal regarding the bank clients. Then there were takeovers of personal property, companies, etc through misuse of circumstances when power of attorney was given to someone trusted. The history of identity theft will also bear
witness to fraudulent withdrawal of cash by falsification of signature on the checks, traveling under other people’s names, obtaining insurance money under other people’s names, and so on. Though people think that identity theft is something new and what developed in the wake of computerization, it is clear if you look into the history of identity theft carefully, that this crime was around since a very long time ago. Yes, the computerization and the advancement in technology made it easier, since access to people’s identity and manipulation of such identity for personal gains is now just a click of mouse away.
How People Gain Access to Your Personal Information
The sources are not new; the crime is not new; yes, in some cases the methods might be new. As mentioned a little earlier, history of identity theft covers all the areas from where personal information was stolen before. As a matter of fact, some reports say that about 65% of the identity thefts that take place today are still based on information obtained without the help of computers. It is easy to pilfer information, which can be later used as material for identity theft. Some sources are listed below:
1. Records that is available to them during the course of their job – nurses for medical records, bank employees for financial records, insurance employees for insurance records, and so on.
2. Information can be stolen from your mail (by accessing your mailbox) where your credit card statements are sent, where your new checkbooks can be intercepted. It is easy to steal one’s identity with the help of this information.
3. As it is mentioned in the history of identity theft, the commonest source for information is the humble dustbin. The papers you throw in there contain vital information, which can be used by those interested to take over your identity with ease. This could be from your ATM slip, your credit card statements, your checkbook stubs, your old and expired credit card, and so on.
Posted in Identity Theft | No Comments »