|
||
|
||
| Home | Ask Your Question | Mortgage Glossary | ||
|
|
Identity theft is a crime that directly affected over 9.9 million people last year. Thats right, the US Postal Service reports that identity theft cost victims over $5 billion just last year. We all hear about identity theft, but what is it really?
Since each of the activities listed above results in consequences it is vitally important that the right identity be associated with each action. Purchasing on credit requires someone to pay the bills. Receiving income from a job obligates the employee to pay taxes. Committing a crime has penalties for the guilty parties. All of these consequences depend on knowing the identity of the person who is responsible for the action. A criminal can attempt to avoid the consequences of actions by using someone elses identity. For example, lets say that Carl Crook steals the identity of Fred Goodguy. All Carl really needs is some of Freds personal information, such as his social security number and his birth date. Carl uses this information to open 2 new credit accounts and goes on a shopping spree. The next month Fred receives 2 very large credit card bills for items he has never seen. After calling the credit card company he realizes his identity has been stolen. Carl has the stuff and Fred is stuck with the bills. If you find yourself in a similar situation to Fred, dont worry. With some work you can clear your good name and get your credit back to the way it should be. Its not painless, but it is possible and there is plenty of help out there. You are not alone. In fact, by quickly reporting problems to your credit card companies, you will not be required to pay for someone elses misuse of your credit. Although you can recover from having your identity stolen, it is far better to prevent it from happening in the first place. Knowing what criminals can do with your identity is the first best step to protecting your identity. It doesnt do much good to try and protect your identity from some unknown threat. A criminal that can assume your identity can open and access credit accounts, bank and investment accounts, and generally pretend to be you in many ways. Most identity theft actions result in costing you money, but not all. Identity thieves can use your medical background as well to disclose personal information or just to get fraudulent medical services or drugs. The list of what crooks can do with your identity is nearly endless. Thats why you need to do all you can to protect your identity. So, how do you protect yourself from identity theft? There is much you can do. The overriding theme is to prevent any personal information from getting into the wrong hands. Then, check up on the health of your identity periodically to make sure no one else is using it. There are several simple steps to protect your personal information.
The preceding list is only a start. But following these simple guidelines will help you avoid becoming an identity theft statistic. In addition to preventative measures, you need to review your credit report at least annually. Each of the three major credit bureaus must provide you with a free credit report each year. They also provide services for additional fees that allow you to access your credit report more often, and even will alert you when others request copies of your credit report. You can contact each bureau for more information: Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen TX 75013 www.experian.com 888-397-3742 Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30348 www.equifax.com 800-685-1111 Trans Union, PO Box 4000, Chester, PA 19016 www.transunion.com 866-887-2673 Want more tips and information on how to recognize, prevent, and repair the effects of identity theft? Go to http://www.thesecurityguy.net right now and youll find eBooks and home study courses on identity theft and other security related topics.
See Also: Free Credit Reports: From The 3 Major Credit Bureau's! Asset Searching for Recovery Actions - The Decision Maker's Tool Part 2 Clean Credit Report: Easily Raise Your Credit Score 100 points How to Understand Credit Report |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ExplainingMortgages © 2005 - 2009
