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.

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.

When you receive pre-approved credit cards in the mail, do you throw them away or use a shredder? If thrown away in tact, a thief could find it while dumpster diving and use it to steal your identity. With this type of information, thieves can use your name to create new accounts, apply for new credit cards, benefit financially, and then disappear before anyone can capture them.

Once you begin seeing signs of identity theft, chances are the thief has had plenty of time to run up debt and move around several times. Often, victims of identity theft don’t realize what’s happened until about 45 days or more after the theft occurred.

Requesting a 2 or 3 credit reports each year from the major credit report bureaus is encouraged to see if there are any signs of identity theft. If there is an account that isn’t yours listed on your report, then perhaps you will be able to limit the amount of damage done to your credit.

Signs of Identity Theft

The following are additional signs of identity theft to keep an eye out for:

If a creditor sends you a credit card statement and you don’t have an account with them, then this is a sign of identity theft. A phone call from a creditor you don’t belong with is a cause for concern as well. A thief may have used your name to open a new account without you knowing.

If you applied for a new credit card or loan and were denied, then find out why. This is especially the case if you have good credit and there was no good reason for you being denied. Check your credit as this could be a sign of identity theft.

Cash advance withdrawals on your credit card statement or unidentifiable charges are definite red flags. Contact the creditor immediately to find out where those charges came from.

Another sign of identity theft is not receiving a credit card statement when you normally should. If you didn’t get a statement, contact your creditor as it’s possible that a thief stole your identity and changed the mailing address.

Not protecting your information increases your risk of being an identity theft victim. Be cautious whenever giving out important personal details and monitor your credit periodically to lookout for signs of identity theft.

Prevention involves first knowing what it is and how it happens. Then, it comes down to taking the necessary steps to prevent identity theft.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft involves one person stealing another’s personal information to benefit in some way, usually financially. This information could include a credit card or bank account number. The thief could use it buy products and services online where they don’t need to have the credit card in possession. Social security numbers sometimes get stolen, and the thief could use it to gain employment or sell it to illegal immigrants for them to use. In the most severe cases, a thief will commit a crime using the stolen identity. This of course often leads to the innocent victim being arrested.

How Does Identity theft Occur?

An identity can be stolen in any number of ways, some are rather basic while others are more advanced. Credit card theft, phishing scams, stealing documents, and hacking into databases are just several methods used by thieves.

What is ID Theft Insurance?

The concept of ID theft insurance is no different than insurance for anything else, it’s to provide reimbursement for the incurred losses that result from identity theft. Because more and more identities are being stolen, obtaining ID theft insurance is being seriously considered now more than ever. Insurance companies that offer this may offer several different policies depending on what best suits you.

The policies available will vary in terms of the types of theft and the amount of money that will be covered. For instance, one policy may provide protection for credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards and up to $30,000 for the family. So it’s possible that you could still lose money if you are a victim despite having ID theft insurance.

Credit card companies sometimes offer ID theft insurance as well. You might find that the protection plans through your credit card company may be less than what insurance companies offer. Discover card offers a plan that will insure victims up to $25,000. Contact your creditor to see if they offer such a service if you aren’t sure.

Terms And Conditions

Learn the terms and conditions of any ID theft insurance policy that you are considering before making any decisions. As you research what companies offer, you will find that the terms will vary based on the policy. Some for instance may pay for cost for notarizing fraud affidavit, long distance telephone calls that deal with the fraud, and other fees associated with the recovery process. Others may not provide this much coverage. Compare and decide what is best for your situation.

Legal costs will generally be covered in most insurance policies when you hire an attorney. A portion of lost wages due to missing time from work may be provided over a short period of time. Fees that incurred from loan re-application because of inaccurate credit information could be included in the policy, as well as mailing costs.

Prevention is the best way to combat identity theft. If peace of mind is important to you, then ID theft insurance may be a good option for you. The key point is to know exactly what you are getting with a policy.

When the child identity theft victims reach the age where they begin monitoring their credit reports or apply for credit cards, they might be in for a surprise. They may not get approved for credit, and have no idea why. Once they find out, then they have to begin restoring their credit. This process could takes years, but isn’t necessary as long as the enough caution is taken. The following will discuss child identity theft more in depth and how you can prevent it from happening.

Child Identity Theft

A child’s social security number is used for several reasons. Parents will use to so to a greater tax return on their income, and children will use it to get health insurance. In addition, a SSN will be applied when registering for a doctor, attending a new school, or participating in certain activities. A SSN can get in the wrong hands and put a child at risk for identity theft.

As mentioned, not many parents even think about checking on their child’s credit report. And why would they? Their child has no credit history. So it doesn’t get looked at often times until he or she is ready for a credit card.

Monitoring for child identity theft is not easy. In order to get access to a child’s credit report, you will have to mail a letter requesting the information. Many parents may not even know about child identity theft, or even bother taking the time to get it.

The Process of Child Identity Theft

Once thieves have a SSN in their possession, they can use to find out more information about the victim. Using this information, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit card, loans, and rack up all kinds of debt. Recovering from identity theft is very challenging, especially if it has been happening for years without anyone knowing.

Preventing Child Identity Theft

Therefore, taking steps to prevent child identity theft is important. You can monitor your child’s credit report by requesting one every 1-2 years. Never disclose any critical details about your child unless it’s absolutely required and the place or person requesting it can be trusted. For example, there is little to no risk giving it to your child’s doctor or to the IRS. Plus, there is no way around not giving it to them if they need it. Keep the SSN in a safe place in your home as opposed to carry it around with you.

Preventing child identity theft doesn’t require doing much, but in this case a little goes a long way.

Victims shouldn’t waste anytime contacting all creditors and informing them of the situation. This means telling them that any purchases in their name shouldn’t be authorized and their credit should be suspended. Call any financial institutions that you have accounts with, such as banks and credit card companies.

Identity theft victims have the right to contest any items on their credit report that are either inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable. The credit bureau has 30 days to verify all of the details. If they can’t, then all the charges must be removed. They have to prove that you actually paid for all the items.

Victims will receive in writing all the results of the investigation and changes made to their credit reports. Information that has been removed from a report can never be returned unless evidence surfaces that verifies that the charge was not fraudulent. Upon request, a notice must be sent to anyone who has seen a report in the last six months to explain changes that have been made. Updated reports can be sent to any employers whom victims have been with in the last two years.

Identity Theft Prevention

A credit monitoring service or insurance should be considered by anyone who has been a victim. Sometimes a stolen identity can get passed around to other criminals, so you are still at risk. Many services are available that provide identity theft protection, such as Identity Guard and Lifelock. You can obtain a maximum of $1,000,000 insurance from Lifelock to cover damages that occur to your records as a result of being a victim.

A credit monitoring will also the bear the burden of recovering your identity, saving you a great deal of time and headaches. The best services, such as Identity Guard and Lifelock, will manage the situation and work to remove the blemishes from your credit.

Credit monitoring can be done on your own by requesting credit reports periodically. However, this will only give an update of your credit every so often and ultimately won’t recover your identity if it’s stolen. Doing all the monitoring yourself can require a lot of work and time. Meanwhile, credit monitoring services will not only watch over your credit around the clock, they will also take care of the restoration process as well.

The concept of the identity theft shield is having professionals monitor your credit in exchange for a fee. This protection gives consumers peace of mind knowing that if any unusual transactions come up on their credit, they will be notified immediately. Pre-paid Legal charges $12.95 per month if you aren’t a member, and $9.95 if you sign up for their membership. For those who shop online frequently or own a business, this is an investment worth making.

In the unfortunate event that someone were to become a victim, the identity theft shield would take responsibility for all the issues, including paperwork. This would not only save you time, but money as well over the long term. Also, catching the thief is much more likely when a professional service is collecting the information. Should you not have a service to rely upon, you will probably end up spending thousands in legal fees and hundreds of hours of your time. You could even lose your job and home as well.

Therefore, credit monitoring is an important part of protecting your identity. You will receive assistance when your credit report has errors in association with accounts you created. The burden is lifted off your shoulders to protect and restore your identity. The fee that you will pay monthly pales in comparison to what you might have to pay on your own as a victim.

Identity theft shield is one of the best solutions available for monitoring and restoration. However, even with a service such as this one, each person should set up their own shield as well by minimizing risk as much as possible. This means shredding all important documents as opposed to throwing it in the trash where a thief could easily search and find it. Place all important data in a safe place and avoid carrying around checkbooks and social security numbers everywhere you go. It’s easy just to rely on a Identity Theft Shield monitoring service, but isn’t it best that they never alert you?

One aspect of identity theft protection is understanding the nature of thieves. In order for a thief to get his or her hands on your money, they will need in their possession a minimum of two items. This could be a combination of an account number and photo ID, for example.

Because women keep these items in their purse most of the time, they are often victims especially when they don’t keep an eye on their purse. An example of this is when a woman is at a restaurant and leaves her purse to go to the salad bar or bathroom. The thief then enters and grabs the woman’s purse without her noticing until it’s too late. Next, a female accomplice is provided the victim’s ID and checkbook by the thief. The accomplice then writes a check to herself and disguises herself to appear similar to the identity theft victim. Then, the criminals run away with the money.

Next, the thief can go to local businesses and open credit accounts, spend money until the maximum credit limit is reached, and then leave. Meanwhile, the identity theft victim is billed for all of the goods and services purchased within the next month. Should the victim not pay, it will be reported to the credit bureaus by the merchant.

While women might be a bit more prone to being identity theft victims, men are not exempt. Men have had their wallets pick-pocketed by thieves. However, men for the most part don’t take checkbooks with them because of their size, which means that thieves are not able to get bank account information even if they get a wallet. If the appearance of the victim and thief are similar enough, then credit accounts could be opened under the victim’s name.

Tips To Avoid Being Victimized

Leave your checkbook at home. When paying bills through the mail, checks can be very convenient. But when making every day purchases, they are not necessary when you can either pay with cash, a credit card, or a debit card.

When at a social event or public place such as a restaurant, women should make sure they don’t leave their purses unsupervised. Identity thieves can be anyone, such as a bus body, a waitress, stranger, and so on. It only takes seconds for a purse to be stolen.

Write down your credit card numbers in a notebook and have the credit card companies phone numbers on hand and place it in a safe place in your home. If your credit card is stolen, then you can quickly and easily call and cancel your card. Also, check and be sure you know which number to call when contacting your credit card companies.

A credit history is used by every business to gain credit with vendors. A company having a good credit history is very important, just as a person’s credit score is when applying for loans. Without a good credit standing, a company will not be able to get the credit they need to rent space or purchase new equipment.

Corporate Identity Theft Prevention

Proper website security and maintenance is of utmost importance when it comes to identity theft prevention. A company’s website should be monitored by the IT staff on a regular basis, and the home page should list an e-mail address for users to contact if they notice any unusual activity. For instance, on several occasions someone hacked a company website and posted pornographic material throughout. Because of this heinous act, the image and reputation of the company was damaged. Also, keep an eye out for sites that use similar domain names or simply purchase them before others can use them.

Losing track of paper documents has often lead to corporate identity theft. To avoid this being a problem, shred any documents that you want to get rid of and file any documents that are to be maintained.

A secure place should be used to store all company data. A filing cabinet can store personal information, and a flash drive can contain all electronic data instead of placing on the office computer.

Virus protection software should be updated regularly to maintain computer network security in addition to periodically changing passwords, and strengthening spyware, adware, and firewalls. A policy should be in place addressing internet use. Employees browsing the internet and visiting sites with adware or spyware may be putting the company’s integrity in jeopardy.

Although corporate identity theft was not a common occurance in the past, their occurrences are continually increasing and can result in a business’s credit being destroyed. Regardless of how big or small a business is, all should be aware of corporate identity theft and take the necessary precautions in order to prevent it from happening. All it takes is for a thief to get their hands on confidential information in order to change the company’s director and address, as well as appoint new directors. Securing critical company data and taking action is important in order to fight against corporate identity theft.