Identity Theft Overview – Are you a Victim?
Definition: “When someone else gains access to your personal information and uses it without permission”. Someone’s identity is stolen every 2 seconds in the US. It is not a matter of if you will be compromised; it is a matter of when. This blog is a brief overview of the topic of identity theft.
What are they after?
They want three things about you: your SSN, your driver’s license and your DOB. With these, they can make a mess of your life.
How do they do it?
These are their core techniques: phishing, dumpster diving, scams and data breaches.
Scams usually originate from phone calls, test messages, email and postal mail.
Most of the crime is made possible by the digital age!
Types – “Knowledge is Power”
A little about each type of identity theft
Crimes are committed using your information
Requires an attorney or attorneys to clear up your name
- Banks & credit card companies
- The easiest to clean up
- About 19% of total
- Prescription drugs in your name
- Medical treatment in your name
- Affected over 1.84 million victims and having a total out-of-pocket cost of $12.3 billion (most expensive form)
- Can be dangerous
- Tax return fraud
- Benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare, disability, etc.
- About 47% of total
What can you do about it?
- Secure your data
- Pay attention to financial statements
- Invest in ID Theft protection
For more information
I will elaborate on this topic in future blogs. You can contact me at 408-309-3557 if you want more information now.
Take a look at http://www.legalshieldassociate.com/idt/trholthus to view my preferred identity theft protection program.