Identity Theft Explained
Identity Theft occurs when your personal information is taken and used without your knowledge. It is a serious crime and should not be underestimated or overlooked. A person whose identity has been stolen can spend years and hundreds of dollars repairing the damage done to their name and credit. In the blink of an eye your life can be turned upside down by identity theft; loss of job opportunities, loans denied, negative credit ratings, and in rare cases, arrested for crimes you did not commit.
Identity Theft occurs when your personal information is taken and used without your knowledge. It is a serious crime and should not be underestimated or overlooked. A person whose identity has been stolen can spend years and hundreds of dollars repairing the damage done to their name and credit. In the blink of an eye your life can be turned upside down by identity theft; loss of job opportunities, loans denied, negative credit ratings, and in rare cases, arrested for crimes you did not commit.
Type
1. Dumpster Diving
They look through your trash for bills, financial statements, or anything else that can be used to assume your identity. Your car or home may also be broken into to find your personal information, including passwords to your computer.
2. Skimming
Your credit card or debit card numbers are captured by a special storage device, which can be attached to the swipe-capture machine in a store, or placed on an ATM. Another d evice can be secretly attached to any computer and record every keystroke entered
3. Phishing
Thieves pretend to be online legitimate financial institutions or organizations. They will send you spam, letters of concern, or pop up messages to get you to r eveal your personal information.
4. Address Change
Thieves may complete a “change of address form” to divert your mail to another location.
5. Stealing
5. Stealing
Thieves will do whatever it takes to get your personal information. They may steal your wallet or purse, your mail, bank or credit card statements, new checks, tax information, abuse their employee authorization, watch as you input your account number or pin number in an ATM and other machines, memorize your account numbers as you write a check, and fill out
pre-approved credit offers. They may also steal your personnel records, electronically transfer your information, or bribe someone with legal access to your reports.
6. Pre-texting
pre-approved credit offers. They may also steal your personnel records, electronically transfer your information, or bribe someone with legal access to your reports.
6. Pre-texting
Thieves may use false pretenses to get your information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources. They may pose as an authority figure, a research firm, or other organization to collect information about you such as name, address, birth date, and social security number. After obtaining the information they need, they call your financial institution and pretend to be you or someone with authorized access to your account. They may claim they forgot their checkbook and need information about their account using your information. With this information, they may gain other personal information about you such as your bank and credit card account numbers, your credit report information, and the status of savings and investment portfolios.
