Understanding Identity Theft

Identity Theft: To have your personal information stolen by a criminal who uses it to commit fraud in your name, leaving you with the burden of proving your innocence.

We live in a world where our identities are often defined and tracked by digital information. This information may list our various bank accounts, credit cards, and loans. It tracks our payment history and resulting credit rating. And it holds various pieces of personal information, such as name, address, social security number, income, and more. While only you and the authorized institutions involved in your financial life are legally allowed access to this information, a new type of criminal—the identity thief—is accessing his victim’s information to benefit himself. If you’re a victim, the resulting damage is frustrating, time consuming, embarrassing…and it’s up to you to clear your name and erase the fraudulent trail.

Identity thieves obtain your personal information in order to perform fraudulent business or financial transactions in your name. These transactions may include applying for credit, buying goods online or in stores, renting an apartment, opening accounts with utility companies, obtaining government ID’s or benefits, or using your identity during an arrest by the police. Of course, any related bills are never paid and your credit rating suffers. Identity theft is serious and the ramifications for the victim are obviously serious. The Federal Trade Commission estimates over 10 million Americans are victimized by identity theft each year, and the number is rapidly growing.

Identity theft can affect you in many ways. You may be denied loans, credit, or housing due to negative credit information. You may lose job opportunities when you background is checked. Your existing credit may be restricted or placed into closing status. You may receive collection letters and phone calls for unpaid debts you never authorized. You may even be arrested for crimes you did not commit.

Identity thieves are crafty, and the list of methods they invent to obtain a victim’s personal information is always growing. They may steal your wallet, purse, or mail. They may pose as a legitimate business to try to get information from you via e-mail (known as “phishing”) or over the phone. They may target a company to steal computer records (known as “hacking”), or to steal physical records, either themselves or with the help of a dishonest employee working with them.

In other articles, we will provide you with information on how to detect and prevent identity theft, as well as how to react and recover if you become a victim.