5 Ways on How identity theft is committed

People often wonder how identity theft is committed. People often don’t think about other people hearing them rattle off their social security number on the phone in a waiting room.

People don’t realize how private the social security numbers need to be protected so it doesn’t fall into the criminals hands. Here are five ways on how identity theft is committed without your knowledge.

#1 Your Moms Maiden Name

The criminal can open up credit accounts over the telephone with your mothers maiden name. It is one of the security questions asked which makes it easy to steal identity and obtain credit accounts.

#2 Your Social Security Number

You probably wonder how he got your Social Security Number? Think about all the places that you’ve revealed your Social Security number in the past. The criminal either stole it directly from you that implies someone you know, or indirectly from another source.

#3 Your Birth Certificate Information

The criminal either knows you directly or stole the information from an official source. Official sources are places such as Welfare, Drivers License Division, and Health Department. The criminal could of paid someone off from inside to get the information.

#4 Drivers License Number or State ID

The criminal either is someone that you know that at one time had access to your wallet or purse. The person could of been someone you don’t know that either was an employee of a company, or paid someone off. Employees are the number one people often suspected of Identify Theft in the drivers license division.

#5 Place of Employment

Your job is another place where you reveal social security number and drivers license number or state ID. Any number of employees can discover how identity theft is committed just to make your life miserable as a revenge tactic.

How identity theft is committed often takes skill and sneaky tactics to not get caught. Identity theft is often done to buy a new life in another state, a revenge tactic, and sometimes just to run from the law.

Identity theft happens more often than you think it does on a regular basis. It takes a long time to catch a criminal because they know how to cover their tracks.

The criminals can live underground using your information without you knowing as long as they stay smart about it.

Please remember the criminals that do identity theft are pro’s at it. They know exactly what they are doing when they steal your identity. They are often considered professionals in the black market.

Some victims of identity theft only have to deal with new ID’s being issued to the criminal. The other victims of identity theft spend forever trying to undo all the credit accounts the criminal opened.

The main ways how identity theft is committed are place of employment, social security number, mothers maiden name, and birth certificate information. It also happens with your drivers license information being stolen or sold for money from a inside employee.

The three ways that a criminal often gets caught is when you filed a identity theft alert, the criminal has overlapping IDs in the same state as you, and the criminal gives your ID to police assuming you have no warrants when you really do have warrants.

How can thieves steal you identity?

Identity theft is an ancient practice. With a steady growth of population globally and technology advances, the practice has continued to thrive. People steal identities either as a tool to defame others or just to steal from them. Most identity thefts that have been recorded were targeted at stealing money and other valuables from the victims. Whereas there are those thieves that target specific people, most identity thefts are random and consequently victims are drawn from all walks of life. Maybe you have never heard about identity theft and you are wondering how and why it happens. When identity thieves access your confidential information they are able impersonate you. They can apply for credit cards, loans, driving licenses, etc using your identification information. Your Social Security Number can be used by the thieves to apply for jobs. You might not learn of such occurrences until somebody contacts you requesting for payments for services you did not use or a fraud that you supposedly committed. There are many methods that identity thieves can use to steal your identity but we shall look at the most prominent methods.

Dustbins

Many of us trash old bills, notebooks, letters, etc. These documents can be ideal points of entry for identity thieves. While you are careless about what information you included in the old diary, someone else might find it helpful because it bearers your driving license number, Social Security Number, Credit Cards Number, etc. Armed with these details, a thieve can apply for a job or a credit card using your name and leave the debt behind for you to service. It is important to go through all documents you intend to trash and if possible it is advisable to destroy them instead of leaving them in usable formats.

Phishing

Phishing is a modern method of stealing identities. This method utilizes emails, junk emails, and pop ups on users browsers. Identity thieves send junk messages that sometimes require recipients to confirm such details as credit card information. Nowadays many people know the tricks and do not reply to such emails. However there are new internet users that submit their details whenever they are prompted to do so. Online identity thieves have been inventing new ways of stealing identities and it is advisable that you don’t submit personal information to any websites or emails that you are not sure about.

Changing Address

Thieves can use bank employees or other payment processing companies to gain access to your mails. They can then change the contact details so that they receive your bank statements, bills and other crucial documents without your knowledge. The information borne by these documents can be used to access your bank accounts and other valuables. It is important to note inconsistencies in mail deliveries and to act promptly when you notice any tampered, missing or delays mails. This way you can correct identity theft before major damages are made.

Stealing

Identity thieves can access your personal documents and identifications by forcefully taking them from you. Thieves can also steal documents from companies offices or banks which they can later use to steal from you. This form of identity stealing is the most difficult to manage but everyone should avoid exposing themselves to possible thieve risks. Regular personal finances audits is also a good way of eliminating possible damages caused by identity thieves.

Things you must know about identity theft

Identity theft occurs when someone assumes someone else’s identity by illegally using his or her confidential information, such as social-security, bank-account, or credit-card number. Identity thieves benefit financially by removing funds from their victims’ bank accounts, taking out mortgages or other loan obligations in their victims’ names, and obtaining credit cards in their victims’ names and using them to run up large debts. If identity thieves cover their tracks by having bills and other mail sent to addresses they control, the victim will not be aware of the theft until considerable damage has occurred. Usually, victims can eventually prove that they are not responsible for the debts or missing funds, but they may spend significant time and money restoring their credit ratings and reestablishing their financial reputations.

No one is immune from identity theft. One case involved a three-week-old infant, and the dead are frequent targets of identity-theft plots. Nor are the victims exclusively individuals. Entire companies have been victimized by identity thieves. Those who study the problem cite many factors for the rapid rise of the crime: the growth of the Internet; the emergence of digital finance; the commonplace nature of consumer credit and the weak regulations governing the credit industry; and inadequate communication between local, national, and international law-enforcement agencies.

The jargon listed below, used by both criminals and law-enforcement authorities, helps explain how identity thieves go about their business.

Dumpster diving

Searching garbage cans, trash bins, and city dumps to find scraps of confidential information such as canceled checks, credit-card statements, bank documents, tax returns, discarded applications for preapproved credit cards, or any records that contain social-security numbers, names, addresses, telephone numbers, and other data that can be used to assume an identity.

Phishing (pronounced “fishing”)

Pretending to be a legitimate company and sending e-mails requesting the recipient to respond or to submit information on a Web page. Phishers make their e-mails and Web sites look authentic by including familiar logos and Internet links that appear to be the legitimate ones of the company they are using as bait. Literally millions of phishing e-mails are sent out each month, and many unsuspecting recipients respond, resulting in huge monetary losses.

Spoofing

Making an e-mail message look as if someone else has sent it. E-mail spoofers often claim to be computer-system administrators requesting the unsuspecting victims to change their user ID (identification) and password to a specific value, or pretending to be an organization’s management requesting a copy of password files or other sensitive information.

Hacking

Breaking into computer systems by using known computer-program flaws or by finding poorly controlled systems. Hackers attack computers all over the world; in 1998 a Russian hacker broke into Citibank’s computer in the United States and stole $12 million dollars from customer accounts.

Social engineering

Tricking employees of a company into disclosing confidential information. Common social-engineering tricks include pretending to be an employee who has forgotten a password, or to be from network security and needing a password to test the system, or assuming the role of a buyer or a salesperson to obtain the confidential information.

Key logging

Using hidden computer software to record computer activity, such as a user’s keystrokes, e-mails sent and received, and Web sites visited. Whereas parents may employ such software to check on their children’s computer usage and businesses use it to monitor employee activity, identity thieves utilize the software to garner confidential information and have it sent to them by e-mail.

Impersonation

Using someone else’s user ID and password to access a system. By doing so the thief is able to enjoy the same privileges as the person being impersonated.

Password cracking

Penetrating a computer-system’s defenses, stealing the password file, and using the passwords to access system programs, files, and data.

Packet sniffing

Using programs that capture data from information packets as they travel over the Internet or company networks. Captured data is sifted to find confidential information.

Eavesdropping

Listening to private communications or transmissions of data on unprotected communications lines. The most common way to intercept signals is by wiretapping.

Authorities suggest a number of ways to prevent identity theft and to minimize its consequences should it occur. Computer users are advised to be skeptical of all requests for information—legitimate companies do not typically ask for sensitive personal information via e-mail. Before entering personal or financial information on any site, users are told to check that it is a “secure” site by looking for the padlock symbol on the bottom of most Web browsers. Users are also advised to make sure that their passwords contain a combination of letters and numbers so that they cannot be easily guessed, and are not the same for every account. In addition, people should carefully check their monthly bank and credit-card statements for suspicious items and they should regularly review accounts online between statements. Confidential documents should be shredded to prevent dumpster diving. Firewalls and computer virus–protection software should be used to make a computer secure. Security patches released by vendors to correct software flaws should be installed as soon as they are available. Online retailers should be checked before making a purchase. Consumers should not give any retailers permission to store their confidential information, as the databases maintained by retailers may be vulnerable to theft.

Identity Theft Scam: What You Should Know

Many people have been victimized by identity theft scam over the years. Criminals are staying ahead of the curve by discovering new methods to acquire personal information over the phone or the internet. Once they get the information they need, the possibilities are virtually endless with what they can do with it. This includes obtaining money from bank accounts, gaining credit card access, and start new accounts. This is despite the creation of identity theft software that have been made to provide protection against an identity theft scam. However, new viruses are constantly being unleashed to combat these programs.

Online Purchases

Your bank and credit card information must be protected when dealing with transactions online. Do a background check on any websites that you considering buying from to make sure they are verified and have a good reputation. Keep in mind that websites can be created just for identity theft scam. Also check the security of the site. This means looking to see if it’s being monitored and protected. Your social security number shouldn’t be requested very often online, so if it is for whatever reason be very careful who you are giving it to.

After you have completed a purchase online, most of the time you will receive a confirmation number in an e-mail or right away on the site. Keep this information for your records so you can confirm that it’s the same as what you are being charged on your credit card. If they don’t match up, contact the site you made the purchase at as well as your credit card company. Not falling victim to an identity theft scam involves having attention to detail.

Identity Theft Scam Over The Phone

The internet is not the only vehicle used for an identity theft scam. It still happens over the phone as well, though it’s not quite as common. Anytime you receive a phone call and your social security number, credit card numbers, or bank account information is requested, don’t answer them. This information will not be discussed by any legitimate business over the phone. Ask the person on the other side of the line who they are and what company they represent. If you have a caller ID, write down their number. By getting their information, you can take it to the Better Business Bureau or the local authorities.

Report Identity Theft Scams

Victims of an identity theft scam are often times hesitant to report what happened because the feel embarrassed that it happened to them. However, if nobody files complaints then the perpetrators will continue to scam and law enforcement will have a much greater challenge trying to catch them. Anyone can fall prey to an identity theft scam, but the more educated you are about protecting your identity the better chance you have at avoiding one.