Identity Theft Crisis

Today, Identity fraud has become one of the most common thefts of the decade – It has been featured in different kinds of magazines and Television shows. It seems like each year the amount of cases being published increase drastically.

In America alone, over 27 million cases are being filed each year and it is still constantly increasing. It is also due to the fact that slowly most of the purchases are done through information – usually credit cards are the ones with high risk, since if they know all about your personal information they can easily use your card to purchase over the internet.

Now, in order to prevent Identity fraud I have listed the essential things you can do to prevent this from happening to you and your family. Keep in mind that if you follow these things you will prevent identity theft at least 90% of the time. So please take note of the information I am about to share with you.

1. Information Awareness

Now this is very essential, you should be extremely wary of the amount of information you are giving away to the public. It can be on the internet or hard copies of your identification documents.

So in order to be aware of the situation you just have to limit the amount of information you give out, especially on the internet. Don’t publish all of your information online.

Another thing is you should not allow anyone to copy or borrow your identification documents without proper reason.

Plus, always deal business with an official sanction of a company – Do not try to deal with individuals that don’t seem to have any official identifications, you can also check the person by calling up the company.

Shred any financial papers you receive before disposing of them in the trash. This includes any solicitation notices that you may receive for any credit cards or mail from other financial institutions.

Lastly, don’t bring your Social Security Card (or Identification number) with you unless it’s absolutely important.

2. Report Odd Credit Information

This is an extremely important part of preventing identity fraud. Most of the time, people who are involved in the cases think that they could be subjected to identity fraud problems, unfortunately they don’t follow their gut instinct to check.

The telltale signs are monthly expenses that show up in your credit card payment but they don’t provide any form of billing and check your credit card transactions to make sure that all transactions are made by you and if there is a discrepancy, immediately call the company to stop any fraud from continuing further.

And lastly, check your credit report at least once a year to make sure your information (and credit standing) is correct.

That’s why it is essential that you exercise these tips and relate them to your friends and family to prevent any of identity theft/fraud problem in the future.

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Have you ever tried shopping online? Why not? Many people find that online shopping is not only easy and convenient, but much cheaper as well. Internet merchants can afford to sell their products for lower prices because of a lower capital needed for maintaining an online store. But don’t forget about the risk of credit card fraud and identity theft when purchasing from the web.

You may not even be aware of it but other people may already be using your personal information to commit fraudulent crimes against you. For instance, one common strategy used by identity thieves is called “phishing”. In fact, this strategy has been used by ID thieves since the 1990s and has become more and more prevalent today.

How is the crime of phishing done? An identity thief will send an email to an unsuspecting victim, disguising as an email from a reputable company or online merchant like the IRS, Amazon, PayPal and other big names on the web. If you’re not aware of identity theft tricks, you may think that the email is indeed from a valid source.

You may be asked to click on a link that leads to a phishing website. This webpage was made to look just like the genuine company and it takes careful examination to recognize a fake one from the real one. The email may ask you to fill out the online form for them to verify your account. But upon submitting that online form, you may not know that you’re also handing out your personal information to identity thieves.

What You Should Do

The Federal Trade Commission warns all consumers against such tricks. Remember that trusted merchants and government agencies will not solicit personal information from consumers through an electronic message.

The best thing to do if you receive a suspicious email is to call the company who appeared to have sent it to confirm. Never attempt to open an email or click on the links in it.

Bear in mind that the URL of a secured website always begins with https://. You should also look for the pad locked icon in the bottom right corner of your browser. If you have been a victim of Identity Theft or credit card fraud, contact the FTC immediately.

Be Alert Against Online Identity Theft

When making an online purchase, check the background and reputation of the internet merchant you intend to purchase from. Don’t just compare shops based on the low prices they offer. If a certain online shop sells items at an incredibly low price, if it doesn’t have a solid track record of service to show, you could be in danger.

You may also prefer to send in your payment through a reputable online system like Pay Pal. This way, you don’t have to reveal your credit card’s number to anyone. See to it that the online shop uses a secured server. There must be a Privacy Policy provided on the site to show that they are concerned about protecting their customer’s personal information.

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Are you thinking of subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company? Given the growing crime rate of identity theft, it is definitely wise to take this particular action in protecting yourself from identity theft. Here?s what you should know before subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company.

An Identity Theft Protection company usually offers the following services:

1. Tracking of credit report, police report and medical records. Whenever your credit card is used or whenever your social security number is included in an application form, your Identity Theft Protection company will notify you. If the transaction was unauthorized, the company would then make a trace to find out who tried to use your identity. The company will also track down any unknown addresses that are affiliated with your name and will also take a look at the DMV records in your state.

2. Alerts in case of any suspicious activity. Once detected, your account will be frozen and you will have to confirm if it is indeed unauthorized. If it is unauthorized, your account will continue be frozen and the company will notify the authorities. If it is authorized however, your account will be reactivated immediately. This is very helpful as normally the only way you would know of this is if you are already harassed by collection agencies or when you try to get credit only to find your credit rating has been thrashed.

3. Assistance in the process of clearing credit. Should the thieves be successful in using your identity, the company will help you with the police regarding warrants, as well as assist you in getting collection agencies to stop harassing you for debts that aren?t yours.

An Identity Theft Protection company offers various plans:

The basic plan usually covers tracking of your credit report and alerts in case of suspicious transactions. You will also receive notifications every time a new account is opened or a new inquiry appears on your report. Given the rise of competition in lending, note that many lenders offer this basic plan for free.

Meanwhile, in a more detailed plan, you can receive monthly reports (as compared to yearly reports in a basic plan) and counseling services. Some Identity Theft Protection companies also cover out-of-pocket fees in case you become an identity theft victim. This detailed plan usually charges a reasonable fee of $100 per individual or $150 per household annually.

There are also comprehensive plans available which covers each and every cost the consumer incurs through identity theft. Obviously, this service would warrant higher fees.

A few examples of top-notch Identity Theft Protection Companies include LifeLock Identity Theft Protection and Equifax Credit Monitoring Service. Note that Lifelock offers $1,000,000 Identity Theft Protection Service Guarantee.

Subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company is just one of the ways you can protect yourself from identity theft. There are other simple steps you can take like being more cautious in all your transactions and being more careful with regards to your personal information. You certainly can?t go wrong with taking extra precautions when it comes to protecting yourself from identity theft.

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