A Few Examples of Identity Theft

By Paul Cameron

A very common crime committed nowadays is identity theft. While this information has been on the news, and a major topic of discussion for several years, a lot of people are still unsure about what it is and how it happens. No one is safe from identity theft. This most disheartening thing about it is that the victims are completely unaware of what is happening. Here are a few examples to help introduce you to some of the various ways identity theft criminals work, and how they are able to get access to someone's personal information.

Rummaging through trash seems to be the most common starting point that thieves choose to retrieve information they can use to commit identity theft. They will walk along a street that has trash bags out on the road because it is pickup day the next day and they will either go through the bags right there if they don't think anyone's looking or they may even pick the bags up and take them home with them to go through them more thoroughly. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you are not leaving bags of garbage out on the street any longer than necessary. It is a good idea to shred your documents before you toss them in the garbage. You definitely don't want to throw away driver's licenses or health cards without first completely destroying them.

You have probably heard about identity thieves who swindle information from people by calling them at home and asking questions. Usually they will call pretending to represent a credit card company or a financial institution, and they try to get you to verify information like your name, address, or social security number. To prevent something like this from taking place, it is important to double check and be certain that you know who you are talking to on the phone.

Another popular avenue identity thieves use to steal your personal information is called phishing. Phishing is done online through the internet by sending certain types of malware applications to your computer, which then gives them access to your files and other information they can use to actually open credit accounts under your name that they will proceed to use. One of the scariest and most dangerous things about being on the Internet is your constant vulnerable exposure to criminal agents who can steal your identity at any time. To combat this, you should make sure your ant-virus software is always updated.

These were only a few examples of the way that people can hijack your identity and begin ruining it for their own malicious practices. The main thing to keep in mind is to always protect your identity as much as you can. If you get a hint of suspicion that someone may have stolen your identity, you should contact the authorities immediately. - 32534

About the Author:

These days, nobody is safe from identity theft. It is one of the fastest growing crimes internationally. And it can happen to you. Learn more about how to stop identity theft at Identity Theft Facts.

Becoming a Target of Identity Theft is Very Unpleasant

By William Wilkie

Millions of North Americans and billions of individuals around the world are targets of identity theft every year. These targets need to expend a year or more and in the region of $1000 to clean up their names and re-establish their credit score.

Since identity theft does not reveal any signs of being stopped shortly, early detection is the only key that can prevent you from becoming a target. After all, you wouldn't want someone messing around with your credit history that you have worked so hard for, or discover that your investment account has been drained and your credit cards limit has been hit.

For an identity thief, getting a hold of your personal details is painless enough. It can be as harmless as someone searching in your garbage, stealing mail from your mailbox, watching over your shoulders while you key in your PIN at an ATM, or else sending emails that appear as if it is from a genuine company and next sending you to an attack web site to gather your personal information.

Information that identity thieves seek is your Social Security Number, full name and address, bank and credit card numbers, plus other personally identifiable information. Once they get all your personal details, these identity thieves can subsequently carry out identity fraud or further crimes .

Next are several sure signs that you're an identity theft victim.

When looking through your credit reports, you notice that there are certain new charge cards from companies you do not have a financial relationship with.

Debts are beginning to show on your credit report and you find yourself being denied new credit.

You are receiving bills from new credit card accounts that you did not open.

You observe various charges in your credit card statement that you did not even consent to.

You are receiving phone calls from debt collectors that you know nothing about.

You may well not know it so far but you might be an identity theft victim before now. If you are starting to see these things and you suspect that there is fraud concerned, you need to report the identity theft right away. To begin with you need to report the event to the fraud department of the three credit bureaus, next report the crime to your neighborhood law enforcement officials, and last but not least you will have to monitor your credit reports at least once a month.

So as to dodge being an unknowing victim of identity theft, you have to make certain that you take some safety measures.

Credit Cards - First keep an eye on your credit card statements meticulously; better yet is to switch from paper statements that you just get once a month to an online paperless statement that you can check frequently. Keep in mind that a thief doesn't need your physical credit card to make purchases; they just need your credit card number, full name, expiry date, and the three digit security number on the back of the card to make purchases by telephone or on the internet.

Bank Accounts - The same goes for your bank account statements; inspect them and also change over to online statements.

Credit Reports - Acquire your credit reports as a minimum once a year and verify every last factor on them to be alert for any suspect activity. As you can receive free credit reports from each of the three credit reporting bureaus once a year, solicit one every 4 months from a separate bureau every time.

Being a victim of identity theft is a dreadful experience; identity thieves might be spending all your capital to buy luxury merchandise but you are the one held responsible for the debts. Not only are they obtaining your money that you labored so hard for, they are additionally destroying your credit score that took you time to build up. - 32534

About the Author:

Before you become another victim of identity theft, check out William's web site where you will learn tips for Protection against Identity Theft and learn about the benefits of a good Identity Theft Protection Service.

What Are The Best Ways To Prevent Identity Theft?

By Samuel David

The crime which involves the action of stealing or misusing the details of some other person for certain illegal activities is stated to be Identity Theft. This type of Identity theft can be committed with any personal details like individual's name, address, credit card numbers, social security numbers etc. Hence it is very important to be more careful on securing our personal information as said above in order protect ourselves for the theft.

Whether you are looking specifically to prevent medical identity theft, online identity theft, or just identity theft in general, there are a few things considered as the best way to prevent identity theft that you are going to want to be aware of.

Ways to prevent identity thefts:

Shredding up of all the documents that contains your personal details would be one of the best ways to avoid the identity theft. Because, this ensures you that all the stored information are destroyed and thus no longer it can be used by any third person to access your identity against you.

Second way is not to loan anyone your credit cards, because this could turn against you even though the person might be your best friend. We cannot be sure as to who handles the cards or someone might just write down the numbers, or due to sloppy handling the card might be stolen.

One more important thing to be considered is to prevent answering to any request made through either mail or telephone regarding promotions or surveys which offer you some prizes at instant. This is because, the person requesting might actually be the identity thief and this is actually done to retrieve some of your personal details.

Actually there is no single way which will best avoid this identity theft. But anyway it is quite important to follow all the above said things to make sure about your protection and awareness on the identity theft. Writing out any of your passwords such as bank pin number should also be avoided.

As the identity theft has become a common thing and one of the harmful crimes in day today life, it is important to ensure about all the things that need to be done to in order to be careful enough instead of becoming a victim of the incident. The above mentioned ways might surely help you to stay away from the theft. To prevent identity theft, there are also numerous other things to be considered. - 32534

About the Author:

Identity theft what to do info and resources. Everybody need to be aware of the identity theft protection in our world.

How To Keep Your Personal Details Away From Fraudsters

By Mark Walters

Identity theft is as big a problem now as it has ever been. The reason is partly because of improvements in the technology used by fraudsters, but is more so due to the fact that we freely give out our personal details to so many people and businesses.

Whether it be signing up for a store card, transferring money between bank accounts, or taking out home insurance, there are plenty of opportunities for others to get their hands on your personal details. Most of the time, your details will be taken and stored safely, but the motivation is always there for people to take advantage of you because of the financial benefits to be had from illegally posing as someone else.

The good news is that there are some things that you can do to help protect yourself against this awful eventuality. The more you can do to prevent this kind of theft, the more you can avoid the considerable heartache it can cause.

The most important thing you can do to protect your identity is to be aware of the privacy policy of any company you are dealing with. This even includes seemingly well-established companies such as banks and home insurance providers.

Then, look at the circumstances in which you are prepared to give up your personal information. It is always safer to give your details to people that you contact, rather than those who approach you and ask for it, particularly in the street or over the telephone.

You should look to put passwords on as many of your accounts as possible, ensuring that they can not easily be figured out (i.e. dates of births, children's names, etc.) and that you do not use always use the same password. By doing so, even if your details are used fraudulently, the amount of use that they will be to others will be severely limited.

If possible, you should try and deal face to face, or over the telephone, with reputable companies or individuals rather than through websites. This is especially so when you have to give out a lot of private personal information, such as when taking out home insurance.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of personal information is fraudulently acquired through documents (bank statements, utility bills, etc.) that are simply thrown away. Therefore, investing in a document shredder for your home is something that you should seriously consider.

Then, never carry all of your identifiers (passport, driving license, work pass etc.) at once, and minimize the number of credit cards you carry to just what you will need. You can also keep abreast of your credit information by getting regular credit reports from all of the major agencies.

So, if you want to avoid having your personal information used fraudulently , and having your identity stolen, then you need to take a cautious and wary approach with regards to how you act, who you deal with, and how you communicate with them. - 32534

About the Author:

If you are in the market for home insurance, search no further than http://www.henryinsurance.com/ to find the best suitable homeowners insurance to fit your finances.

Is Equifax Worth Getting And How Can You Save Money with Equifax Promo Codes?

By Jeremy Roberts

Identity theft has become a major concern lately, and one great way to gain some protection from identity theft is to sign up with a reputable credit monitoring agency like Equifax, which will watch over your credit for any suspicious activity. Joining Equifax will allow you to keep a close eye on your credit score and even get up to $1,000,000 in insurance coverage for identity theft.

Equifax currently offers a number of plans designed to help you keep on top of your credit score. We describe some of these services below, and also, in the resource box at the bottom of the article, we provide links where you can get the best deals on Equifax using Equifax promo codes.

3 in 1 Credit Watch

The best and most complete credit monitoring plan you can get with Equifax is the 3 in 1 Credit Watch plan. This great service will keep an eye on your credit score at all 3 of the major credit bureas, which are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. When there is any change in your credit score or any kind of significant activity, the service will email you to notify you of the change. Then, you can log into your Equifax account, view your credit score, and review the changes yourself to make sure nothing suspicious is going on. Additionally, the plan comes with $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance. You can't ask for better protection than that.

Equifax Score Watch

This is a more basic plan that only monitors your Equifax credit score, as opposed to monitoring your score at all 3 major US credit bureaus. You recieve notice within 24 hours if there is activity in your account that represents a change in score or other activity that might be considered suspicious. It is a good plan for people who want to keep an eye on their score but don't feel the need to closely monitor all 3 credit agencies. Identity theft insurance is not included at this level, and scorewatch is strictly a monitoring service. - 32534

About the Author:

Use the following link to get Equifax Promo Codes and save on your Equifax subscription.

Spam Unsolicited Mails To Prevent Identity Theft Future Senders

By Benedict Perez

You can prevent identity theft if you are aware of the situations leading to that scam. Most often, it is your willingness to respond and give away personal information to unverified sources coming from unsolicited mails. This is unfortunately the most common mistake committed by internet users and social networkers who have been victimized with identity theft.

It is an open fact that subscribers to social networking sites prefer to meet more friends in the hope of expanding their interests. The internet is the most convenient spot for these scammers and the networkers are their favorite targets. They love to prey on these people who in some cases fall into their treacherous lair.

It has also been the common mistake of these social networkers and other internet users to give personal information to unverified sources coming from unsolicited mails. Some are victimized having been befriended by these bums. To befriend these innocent people is the simplest way they can gain access to their accounts particularly if these are hackers on the loose.

You can help yourself prevent identity theft if you are just careful in giving your sensitive your personal information. The same is true with these online stores which may just be bogus and would instantly close as soon as they are able to get what they want from their victims. If you are a regular online shopper you can easily spot the defects of the site.

If you are the type of a person who does shopping online, you may as well shop on your favorite online store especially credit transaction is involved. Always take caution when you shop online and make sure you are on a safe and reputable site. Safety sites are very recognizable even in split seconds as you can see their safety signs instantly emerging on your screen.

Always be extra careful at all times with transactions on the internet for this is the best way to prevent identity theft. It is best that you transact business or shop on website stores where you are a returning or loyal customer. You do not have to be concerned about having your credit card or debit card numbers or passwords being spread over so many different virtual stores.

You may also receive phone calls offering you some rewards or benefits. Be careful with these callers for they are very pretentious and crafty. They can introduce themselves to be authorized by a certain company and they will keep calling you until you have finally given what they want.

These thieves have other legal operations which you must be familiar with. For social networkers and regular internet surfers, phishing and email spoofing are very applicable to these innocent ones. If you happen to give away your email add and contact numbers to people you have just met on the net, just expect to receive unsolicited mails. However, by the time you have them especially if they have already flooded your inbox you can just thrash them at once or send them to your spam section and this can also prevent identity theft. - 32534

About the Author:

Identity theft has gone rampant these days and you never know who's going to be the next victim. To prepare yourself from this unscrupulous crime, you should prevent identity theft to have peace of mind. Or you may want to try identity theft protection.

Identity Theft Insurance: Advantages And Disadvantages

By Benedict Perez

What will you do if somebody steals your credit card, use it and spend hundreds of dollars or even thousands and leave you empty handed? Or what if someone used your name and accessed your personal information for their personal gain? These are just examples of what has known to be the widespread crime all over the United States of America - identity theft. According to statistics, out of 23 Americans, 1 is victimized by identity theft. That is roughly 10 million each year. Because of the increasing cases, identity theft insurance came into existence. It was designed for protection purposes against fraudulent activities that are happening everywhere.

It is important to secure your identity at all times. Whenever you are a victim of identity theft, it is not just about the money that you are going to pay. Remember, it is called identity theft because thieves have accessed your personal information. Not only that they can use them to purchase anything, but you can also be a victim of the court system. Creditors from banks will definitely prosecute you because the accounts are under your name. And because court processes takes a very long time, only a few had come to court and fight for their identity.

To protect our private information and financial stability, several companies had come up on a way to provide us the peace of mind. This is by offering us the identity theft insurance. Availing of its policies can secure us from fraud. These insurance providers offer coverage of certain expenses and direct monetary losses while recovering your financial identity.

Though it sounds rewarding, you have to choose your insurance provider well. Not all of them offer the same coverage and limitations.

It is important to know whether they cover direct monetary losses. These include the phone calls, the duplications of essential papers and documents and the salary loss due to work leave. There are identity theft insurance companies that do not cover all the expenses that you will incur from being a victim of identity theft. They are only limited to $100 to $250, the highest that you can get would probably $1,000. You would want to get a policy that covers such expenses.

There are also policies cover legal fees, some policies do not. You actually need not get a lawyer to resolve the case. All you need is time to deal creditors which can be annoying and hassle sometimes. One more disadvantage of this insurance is that it does not cover the expenses from theft if a family member is the one who committed the crime. So, you'll end up crying and paying for nothing.

Still, it is important to secure your personal information to prevent yourself from being a victim of this crime. Keep your Social Security Number for yourself. Never ever expose it to anybody even to customer service representatives and telemarketers. You will never know if they might be writing down your personal information over a piece of paper and later use them. When making a payment, it is always safer to do it online. Scratch papers with your details should be disposed properly. Also, it is important to constantly monitor your credit card transactions. - 32534

About the Author:

Identity theft protection has gone rampant these days and you never know who's going to be the next victim. To prepare yourself from this unscrupulous crime, you should try identity theft insurance to keep your peace of mind. Or you may want to try identity protection.

Identity Theft Can Ruin Your Life - Get Protection!

By Shawne M. Patrick

With the way that our financial system is set up in the U.S. Today, your life is closely attached to your credit report. Nearly everybody who has a checking account has become aware that the calls they make can affect their capability to get loans or perhaps hire an apartment. However, even the most responsible folk may be thrown off by identity theft. In fact, more than eight million folks a year are thought to be a victim of identity theft, which makes protecting yourself before it happens extremely important.

So how do perpetrators get your personal information? The commonest way to obtain names and Mastercard numbers is thru the internet. If you shop on the internet, you are putting yourself at risk. Therefore , it is important to buy at sites with a valid SSL, or security certificate. This is a good most important step because all info you enter will be encrypted. However , that is not enough to completely protect your credit report. Complicated thieves also frequently hack into big retail sites, enabling them to make away with thousands of urgent pieces of information before their presence is even spotted. The good news is, there are several paths to protect against that.

At the very least, you need to employ a credit monitoring service to keep a closer eye on your credit. Also, many individuals who continually shop on the internet have begun employing an one-time use credit card number for each purchase. Since this offers a much safer way to shop, you should ask your bank if they supply this service.

While online hacking is the commonest way to get your information , however , a remarkable number of crooks aren't nearly that sophisticated. Just by dumpster diving, a criminal can put a unbelievable amount of your personal info together on for themselves and others to use without your understanding. That is due to the fact that mail like bank records, Mastercard bills and the like contain personal identifying information. So think carefully before you throw away an offer to make an application for a mastercard. ID thieves can use it to get a card in your name.

To prevent this from occuring, you should usually get shot of this type of mail by shredding it completely before putting it in the trash. Also, to avoid identity burglary and make credit monitoring really work for you, you must stay aware of what is going on on with your accounts. Just remember, if you haven't any idea what accounts you even have open, you will not recognize an imposter until it's too late. - 32534

About the Author:

It's essentially not difficult to be sure that you are protected from ID theft. Luckily , those who are watchinging their accounts can spot a threat thru credit monitoring and address it before it gets out of hand and affects their credit status or score. In fact, staying aware and being proactive are the best ways to reduce your probability of being influenced by this intrusive crime.

These Best Identity Theft Protection Measures can Save You from Identity Thieves

By William Wilkie

Identity theft is a different sort of misdemeanor altogether and one that happens whenever folks are able to rob other folks personal details. This information is then used in a fraudulent manner and that may negatively affect the victim's finances and reputation.

The best identity theft protection measures are those which will minimize the risk of such identity theft taking place and are obviously a major requirement for those that use the internet and their computers to conduct business or who buy products on-line.

Safe Websites

The best identity theft protection should so also provide guaranteed protection to your personal computer so that no one that's unapproved gets to access your delicate personal information. A method to ensure identity theft protection is to only visit websites that are safe and which are also thought to be safe.

At least, check the sites have a Privacy Policy, Contact details, Disclaimer or Disclaimer Policy, and a TOU or TOS. These links will usually be at the base of the webpage, in the footer section.

If you plan on buying a product online, then make sure that the internet site has 1 of the following Certificates ( again, sometimes in the footer ) : BBB, VeriSign Secured, McAfee Secure, Truste Certified Privacy, Hacker Safe, Thawte, Control Scan, etc . Ensure they're actually clickable links and not just pictures that unfair webmasters have pasted on their sites.

Unsafe Web Sites

The sad truth is that lots of sites that folks visit are less than secure and these sites will also not have proper encryption or other protective measures in effect. This suggests that ingenious identity thieves will have an improved chance of stealing your personal details that you furnished at these less than secure websites.

PC Security Software

The 2nd best identity theft protection measure is guaranteeing that your personal computer's security is recent. This is so that the anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software on your PC has the newest viruses definitions and other malicious software information which can then be used to protect against these threats. Many malware and other adware can easily nick your passwords and also your private details and then these stolen bits of info can be used for nefarious activities by identity thieves.

Without using these best identity theft protection measures, it would leave you open to risk that identity thieves will make off with your personal details. These details can be used to open new accounts and take out credit for which you'll be liable to. Identity thieves can also use your personal details to claim job benefits or maybe take a job in your name without paying taxes - guess who will be responsible for paying those back taxes? There are many more techniques your information can be used in other illegal methods too.

Simple Preventative Methods

It is also possible to use free identity theft protection measures in simple strategies such as never giving out your credit card information over the telephone. One of the most straightforward devices that identity thieves use in order to get your personal details is to call you up and pose as an official from your bank asking to determine your private information. So, watch out that you don't fall for this straightforward though perilous trick.

Total Identity Theft Protection

As identity thieves come up with many new strategies to rob your identity, it is becoming harder to protect ourselves. The best identity theft protection measure involves signing up for the services of an Identity theft Protection Company. These corporations charge a tiny monthly charge to guard you against identity theft by steadily scanning public databases, credit cards, social security numbers, name and address, bank accounts, and many other techniques. - 32534

About the Author:

An identity is stolen once every 2 seconds in the United States, so do not become the next victim. Learn how to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft or how to stop identity theft before it happens by employing Identity Theft Protection Services.