Identity theft is a huge problem and as the economy has gotten worse so has identity theft. There has never been a time when it was more important to protect yourself from identity theft than now.
You may be wondering how you can protect yourself but first I think you should understand How bad identity theft has really become.
Here are some scary facts about identity theft - what is now the fastest-growing crime in the nation:
· There have been over 9 million victims a year for two years running
(Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research, January 2005)
· Identity theft has been the top consumer complaint to FTC five years in a row
(Federal Trade Commission, National and State Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft, February 1, 2005)
??????· Identity theft has claimed over 30 million victims in past five years
(Federal Trade Commission, 2003 and Better Business Bureau, 2005)
WOW! Identity theft has become a nationwide problem with millions of victims of all ages.
Here is a fact that will probably surprise you. In 2003, nearly 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the previous 12 months. That breaks down to around 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, and 13.3 per minute.
It is a fact, according to the US Department of Justice, that drug trafficking is now being replaced by identity theft as the number one crime. This affects all of us in one way or another.
Either you, or someone you know becomes a victim of identity theft.
AND, identity theft causes stores and credit card company to raise prices and their rates, respectively.
So what does this mean? We all pay for identity theft in some way so we all need to protect ourselves and our loved ones and we need to be sure to report as soon as possible anyone that we suspect of trying to steal someone’s identity.
Although identity theft scams most often happen over the phone you need to be careful where-ever you are. They could contact you online, over the phone or even come to your door.
Be sure to provide the police with any pertinent information that you may have. Time, location, what the person looked like, sounded like, caller id information, what type of vehicle-kind, color, year, distinguishing marks on the person or their vehicle, etc.
For many people it will probably take hundreds of hours, and an average of $1,000, just to recover from ID theft. Even worse is that in some innocent victims have ended up in prison because identity thieves have been committing crimes in their names. Thus, the victim then ends up being victimized twice.
Now hopefully this has shown you why identity theft prevention is so important. We want to help you to protect yourself from this awful nightmare. We have an excellent resource to help you to protect yourself so that you never need worry about becoming a victim of identity theft. Find out about the different ways that these scammers will use to steal your identity and how you can protect yourself from them.
Now, if you would like to find out more about how identity thieves can steal your identity from you in the first place then please send a blank email to .
identity-theft-facts@freeautobot.com
About the Author:
Michelle Oaks has been working online for over 7 years. She is the published author of numerous articles, e-books and more. Michelle is the owner of mojovideoworld.com & freedomin90days.ws
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Identity Theft Programs Help You To Defend Yourself From Identity Theft
Due to the rise of identity theft incidents being reported yearly, many organizations are implementing their own identity theft programs to provide citizens education to fight this spiteful crime. Since becoming a victim of identity theft can be a life-changing experience, both emotionally and financially, learning to prevent the occurrence of this crime through identity theft programs can help you and your families live a normal and happy life without someone else meddling with your personal information.
Although the government has been working day and night to fight identity theft, busting these criminals could take several years, or sometimes, they can even live their own lives without being caught. For this reason, different public and private financial institutions with identity theft programs, such as the Federal Trade Commission's AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend�, are educating people to avoid identity theft while giving assistance to those who have victimized.
FTC's National Identity Theft Program
Since the United States has the highest rate of identity theft compared to other countries, the FTC has been working fulltime to distribute online and print informational materials to ensure all consumers are aware of this crime. With over 20 million copies of the information booklet distributed, the FTC identity theft program is reaching one household at a time to reduce the occurrence of identity theft in the country.
Private organization that help consumers fight identity theft are also using the FTC identity theft program to empower citizens in protecting themselves against the damages caused by this crime. The Deter, Detect and Defend� Program educates people and links to other organizations in both private and public sectors including law enforcement agencies, consumer groups, federal agencies and other trade associations to give consumers options on where to ask for help.
The FTC identity theft program releases an informational kit for all organizations fighting identity theft that include a how-to booklet with instructions on educating consumers to aid organizations facilitate outreach programs. It also includes a brochure that these organizations can easily reproduce to give out to people who attend seminars and education sessions. To capture the level of damage identity theft can cause a person's life, a 10-minute video of victims is also included in the program to explain to people how to fight this crime.
Using the FTC identity theft program can help other organizations hold seminars and distribute educational materials about fighting identity theft. Since education is the only key to avoiding this crime, consumers can now be aware on how to identify these problems and take immediate actions if ever they become a victim of identity theft.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Ann Marier has written many articles on health problems and useful house and garden Topics. More articles on How To Prevent Identity Theft And Computer Crime
http://u-can-prevent-id-theft.com
Although the government has been working day and night to fight identity theft, busting these criminals could take several years, or sometimes, they can even live their own lives without being caught. For this reason, different public and private financial institutions with identity theft programs, such as the Federal Trade Commission's AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend�, are educating people to avoid identity theft while giving assistance to those who have victimized.
FTC's National Identity Theft Program
Since the United States has the highest rate of identity theft compared to other countries, the FTC has been working fulltime to distribute online and print informational materials to ensure all consumers are aware of this crime. With over 20 million copies of the information booklet distributed, the FTC identity theft program is reaching one household at a time to reduce the occurrence of identity theft in the country.
Private organization that help consumers fight identity theft are also using the FTC identity theft program to empower citizens in protecting themselves against the damages caused by this crime. The Deter, Detect and Defend� Program educates people and links to other organizations in both private and public sectors including law enforcement agencies, consumer groups, federal agencies and other trade associations to give consumers options on where to ask for help.
The FTC identity theft program releases an informational kit for all organizations fighting identity theft that include a how-to booklet with instructions on educating consumers to aid organizations facilitate outreach programs. It also includes a brochure that these organizations can easily reproduce to give out to people who attend seminars and education sessions. To capture the level of damage identity theft can cause a person's life, a 10-minute video of victims is also included in the program to explain to people how to fight this crime.
Using the FTC identity theft program can help other organizations hold seminars and distribute educational materials about fighting identity theft. Since education is the only key to avoiding this crime, consumers can now be aware on how to identify these problems and take immediate actions if ever they become a victim of identity theft.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Ann Marier has written many articles on health problems and useful house and garden Topics. More articles on How To Prevent Identity Theft And Computer Crime
http://u-can-prevent-id-theft.com
Thursday, July 2, 2009
With The Increase In Identity Theft Cases We All Have To Be More Aware
There has been such an increase in identity theft cases, especially over the past few years, and so obviously you have to protect yourself against something such as identity theft that much more in these days. However, if you take the proper precautions then you will lessen your odds of becoming just another one of the many identity theft cases, and so obviously this will be well worth it in the end.
More About Identity Theft Cases
There is really so much that needs to be known when it comes to identity theft cases, and so if you want to protect yourself as best as you can, then you are going to want to know as much about identity theft cases and identity theft in general that you can. One thing in particular that you are going to want to do is go into your bank and speak to a financial advisor.
You are going to want to do this because they are going to be able to let you know what you can do and the steps that you can take in order to protect yourself against identity theft; they will be able to take steps that will better protect your personal information and your banking account, and so you are definitely going to want to make sure that you do this.
whilst you are there you can talk to them about the danger of identity theft, and they will be able to tell you things that you should and should not do. For instance, one of the most major things that they will tell you right off the bat is that you should never leave your bank slips or receipts by the ATM after you deposit or withdrawal money, for instance, because someone could take this and using the information on it they could steal your identity.Also never give out your PIN number to anybody on the telephone or over the web.
Another good practice is to make sure that all of your identification is safe and secure in whatever you carry it around in, and that you only bring the essentials around with you. For instance, you are basically never going to need your birth certificate when you are out, and so you are going to want to leave something like that at home, because if you do bring it out then you are just risking being an identity theft victim that much more.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Ann Merier has written many articles on family health problems and useful house and garden Topics. More How To Prevent Identity theft articles
http://u-can-prevent-id-theft.com
More About Identity Theft Cases
There is really so much that needs to be known when it comes to identity theft cases, and so if you want to protect yourself as best as you can, then you are going to want to know as much about identity theft cases and identity theft in general that you can. One thing in particular that you are going to want to do is go into your bank and speak to a financial advisor.
You are going to want to do this because they are going to be able to let you know what you can do and the steps that you can take in order to protect yourself against identity theft; they will be able to take steps that will better protect your personal information and your banking account, and so you are definitely going to want to make sure that you do this.
whilst you are there you can talk to them about the danger of identity theft, and they will be able to tell you things that you should and should not do. For instance, one of the most major things that they will tell you right off the bat is that you should never leave your bank slips or receipts by the ATM after you deposit or withdrawal money, for instance, because someone could take this and using the information on it they could steal your identity.Also never give out your PIN number to anybody on the telephone or over the web.
Another good practice is to make sure that all of your identification is safe and secure in whatever you carry it around in, and that you only bring the essentials around with you. For instance, you are basically never going to need your birth certificate when you are out, and so you are going to want to leave something like that at home, because if you do bring it out then you are just risking being an identity theft victim that much more.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Ann Merier has written many articles on family health problems and useful house and garden Topics. More How To Prevent Identity theft articles
http://u-can-prevent-id-theft.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Identity Theft - The Forms of Identity Theft
The main form of Identity Theft is credit theft. This is the most common and the one most people fear the most. Credit theft is only about 28% of identity theft. Bank fraud is 18%, phone and utility fraud is 19%, employment related fraud is 13%, Government documents & benefits fraud is 8% and medical fraud is growing. Bank fraud differs from credit fraud in several ways. With credit theft, once the crime is discovered and the victim is identified then their accounts are quickly cleared up. It's primarily a paperwork issue. In the case of bank fraud, the victim can loss a lot of money and possibly never recover it. It largely depends on how the money was removed from the account and it some cases to where the money was moved. There are a lot of laws protecting bank account owners, but there are many scenarios where it is difficult to impossible to determine if a person was really robbed. For example, a wired transfer to a country where it's impossible to investigate banking fraud.
Utility fraud is relatively easy to commit. Think about how little it took for you to establish phone or electrical service at your home. If a persons identity is fraudulently used to obtain utility service, it isn't difficult to resolve the problem relative to the other forms of identity theft, but it can indicate a much greater problem. The same information that was used to fraudulently establish utility service can be used to obtain credit. After all, even criminals need to furnish their home with two years same as cash furniture that most honest people do. By the time the payments come do on this new furniture, the criminal is probably onto their next location and victims.
Employment fraud should be particularly concerning to most Americans. With the rise in illegal immigration and terrorism, many people are entering the US illegally and using other peoples identities to slip quietly into the system. Others are using other peoples credentials to get better jobs. There are people out their that gladly change their identity to someone with a PhD, MBA or other college degree to establish themselves in a great job. There was a recent news series on a school principle that falsified much of his credentials to get his job. He never would have been caught except for an unrelated crime brought him into the light and his lies were exposed. This kind of identity theft affects everyone. What if a pedophile faked credentials to get a teaching job?
Millions of dollars are illegally obtained from our government every year with fraudulent identities. There are dozens of stories every year where a criminal organization used the elderly to obtain Social Security or Medicare funds. How many of the most fragile members of society are compromised and harmed every year because the wrong person got a hold of their Social Security Number? How many government grants and loans have been approved to an impersonator? Think about all the Katrina victims that were re-victimized by other people stealing their identity and claiming their aid.
Medical identity theft is growing. It is becoming more and more frequent where a ill person is seeking medical treatment under another persons identity. Most scenarios seem to be related to a drug addict trying to obtain more prescription drugs, but other desperate individuals are discovering the technique. Imagine the medical identity of a healthy 30 something father is compromised by someone with AIDS. This father wants to get a large life insurance policy to protect his family. What kind of trouble is he going experience when he is denied? In some cases, the insuring company won't even tell the applicant why their being denied.
Criminal identity is growing too. Imagine a street level drug dealer learns that he can extend his criminal career by assuming someone else's identity. He is arrested. Gives another persons name and address when booked, then doesn't appear for their court date. Guess who the police will be looking for when serving that warrant? Yes, the problem will be cleared up eventually, but will that be after the victim of the identity theft is humiliated by the arrest process? What if they're arrested at work or at home in front of the kids? And now, every time a criminal background check is run on this victim they are going to have to explain how they were a victim; if they even get a chance.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Frank Brammer Owns or operates: Identity Theft Knowledge Articles, News and Blogs InfoZite Articles, News and more
http://identitytheftknowledge.com
Utility fraud is relatively easy to commit. Think about how little it took for you to establish phone or electrical service at your home. If a persons identity is fraudulently used to obtain utility service, it isn't difficult to resolve the problem relative to the other forms of identity theft, but it can indicate a much greater problem. The same information that was used to fraudulently establish utility service can be used to obtain credit. After all, even criminals need to furnish their home with two years same as cash furniture that most honest people do. By the time the payments come do on this new furniture, the criminal is probably onto their next location and victims.
Employment fraud should be particularly concerning to most Americans. With the rise in illegal immigration and terrorism, many people are entering the US illegally and using other peoples identities to slip quietly into the system. Others are using other peoples credentials to get better jobs. There are people out their that gladly change their identity to someone with a PhD, MBA or other college degree to establish themselves in a great job. There was a recent news series on a school principle that falsified much of his credentials to get his job. He never would have been caught except for an unrelated crime brought him into the light and his lies were exposed. This kind of identity theft affects everyone. What if a pedophile faked credentials to get a teaching job?
Millions of dollars are illegally obtained from our government every year with fraudulent identities. There are dozens of stories every year where a criminal organization used the elderly to obtain Social Security or Medicare funds. How many of the most fragile members of society are compromised and harmed every year because the wrong person got a hold of their Social Security Number? How many government grants and loans have been approved to an impersonator? Think about all the Katrina victims that were re-victimized by other people stealing their identity and claiming their aid.
Medical identity theft is growing. It is becoming more and more frequent where a ill person is seeking medical treatment under another persons identity. Most scenarios seem to be related to a drug addict trying to obtain more prescription drugs, but other desperate individuals are discovering the technique. Imagine the medical identity of a healthy 30 something father is compromised by someone with AIDS. This father wants to get a large life insurance policy to protect his family. What kind of trouble is he going experience when he is denied? In some cases, the insuring company won't even tell the applicant why their being denied.
Criminal identity is growing too. Imagine a street level drug dealer learns that he can extend his criminal career by assuming someone else's identity. He is arrested. Gives another persons name and address when booked, then doesn't appear for their court date. Guess who the police will be looking for when serving that warrant? Yes, the problem will be cleared up eventually, but will that be after the victim of the identity theft is humiliated by the arrest process? What if they're arrested at work or at home in front of the kids? And now, every time a criminal background check is run on this victim they are going to have to explain how they were a victim; if they even get a chance.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Frank Brammer Owns or operates: Identity Theft Knowledge Articles, News and Blogs InfoZite Articles, News and more
http://identitytheftknowledge.com
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Identity Theft - What is Identity Theft?
Some definitions from the web are:
Identity theft occurs when somebody steals someone else's name and other personal information for fraudulent purposes.
Stealing victims' personal information and credentials, often to make purchases.
The act of impersonating another, by means of using the person's information, such as birth date, Social Security number, address, name, and bank account information.
The co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge.
and from Wikipedia: Identity theft (or identity fraud,) occurs when someone wrongfully acquires or uses another person's personal data, typically for their own financial gain. Sometimes it is referred to as "identity fraud" since the criminal impersonates rather than 'removes' the victim's identity.
Most of these definitions refer to financial gain. For the criminal there usually is a substantial financial gain. For the victim, the loss is usually much more then financial. Credit theft is the most common form of identity theft. It is the reason there is so much marketing around credit monitoring services. Unfortunately, only about 28% of the identity theft crimes are credit related. It's unfortunate because credit is much easier to repair then the damage caused by most other forms of identity theft. More about this in Identity Theft (Part II).
What identifies a person? First, take a small town view. In most cases a person is clearly identified by their first name or a nick name, and sometimes via a relationship to another person in town. That identity is usually good for a lot. Even today, in many small towns, a local can buy goods at the local mom and pop with just a smile and "put it on my tab". Try that at Wal-mart. So outside of small town USA how is business done? In many cases it's credit. Maybe not as friendly as the small town approach, but usually more reliable. The down side is it's not really a person that is identified. It's an account. An account that is represented by a number. A number that is link to some other numbers, a name and an address. And of course there are millions of accounts, names and addresses. How does a business validate the person before them with a credit card is really the person behind the credit in the first place? The business can't validate this, and that is the dark area the criminal operates in. The only piece of data a criminal needs from you is your name and Social Security Number. With that little bit of information they can virtually recreate you at a different address, with tons of credit cards and possibly much much more.
There is a lot of advise on how to avoid identity theft. Shred your mail. Don't give personal or private information over the phone. Check the mail every day and stop mail delivery when out of town. Keep all documents safe and secure. Do this, do that, watch out, jump over this bar, duck under this bar, snake through this hoop and cross fingers and prey like heck. These are good procedures to follow. They just won't help when the government leaves millions of records unsecured, or AOL releases millions of personal searches, or a business is hacked and it's databases are compromised. Go to Google News and do a search on "identity theft". Read the stories. There are hundreds, thousands and sometime millions of identities compromised every day. It is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when virtually every personal identity will be compromised.
The probability that an identity will be compromised is nearly 100%. No one person has complete control over own data. Identity theft protection cannot be accomplished though personal protection of one's data. Is this sounding a little redundant? It's because this point is too important to miss. Preventing an identity form being compromised is not possible. Protecting your identity is possible.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Frank Brammer Owns or operates: Identity Theft Shield Articles, News and Blogs InfoZite Articles, News and more
http://idtheft.getprepaidlegal.info
Identity theft occurs when somebody steals someone else's name and other personal information for fraudulent purposes.
Stealing victims' personal information and credentials, often to make purchases.
The act of impersonating another, by means of using the person's information, such as birth date, Social Security number, address, name, and bank account information.
The co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge.
and from Wikipedia: Identity theft (or identity fraud,) occurs when someone wrongfully acquires or uses another person's personal data, typically for their own financial gain. Sometimes it is referred to as "identity fraud" since the criminal impersonates rather than 'removes' the victim's identity.
Most of these definitions refer to financial gain. For the criminal there usually is a substantial financial gain. For the victim, the loss is usually much more then financial. Credit theft is the most common form of identity theft. It is the reason there is so much marketing around credit monitoring services. Unfortunately, only about 28% of the identity theft crimes are credit related. It's unfortunate because credit is much easier to repair then the damage caused by most other forms of identity theft. More about this in Identity Theft (Part II).
What identifies a person? First, take a small town view. In most cases a person is clearly identified by their first name or a nick name, and sometimes via a relationship to another person in town. That identity is usually good for a lot. Even today, in many small towns, a local can buy goods at the local mom and pop with just a smile and "put it on my tab". Try that at Wal-mart. So outside of small town USA how is business done? In many cases it's credit. Maybe not as friendly as the small town approach, but usually more reliable. The down side is it's not really a person that is identified. It's an account. An account that is represented by a number. A number that is link to some other numbers, a name and an address. And of course there are millions of accounts, names and addresses. How does a business validate the person before them with a credit card is really the person behind the credit in the first place? The business can't validate this, and that is the dark area the criminal operates in. The only piece of data a criminal needs from you is your name and Social Security Number. With that little bit of information they can virtually recreate you at a different address, with tons of credit cards and possibly much much more.
There is a lot of advise on how to avoid identity theft. Shred your mail. Don't give personal or private information over the phone. Check the mail every day and stop mail delivery when out of town. Keep all documents safe and secure. Do this, do that, watch out, jump over this bar, duck under this bar, snake through this hoop and cross fingers and prey like heck. These are good procedures to follow. They just won't help when the government leaves millions of records unsecured, or AOL releases millions of personal searches, or a business is hacked and it's databases are compromised. Go to Google News and do a search on "identity theft". Read the stories. There are hundreds, thousands and sometime millions of identities compromised every day. It is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when virtually every personal identity will be compromised.
The probability that an identity will be compromised is nearly 100%. No one person has complete control over own data. Identity theft protection cannot be accomplished though personal protection of one's data. Is this sounding a little redundant? It's because this point is too important to miss. Preventing an identity form being compromised is not possible. Protecting your identity is possible.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Frank Brammer Owns or operates: Identity Theft Shield Articles, News and Blogs InfoZite Articles, News and more
http://idtheft.getprepaidlegal.info
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