Identity thieves spend more and more time scouring the internet and going through your trash to be able to steal your personal information than ever before. That is reflected in recent statistics that say over 11 million of us fall victim to their scams and fraudulent schemes every year.
How Thieves Attack Can Vary
Their methods for soliciting and receiving your information are getting craftier and more effective. These thieves have been known to call you up pretending to be from your bank or doctor’s office. Then, they will claim to need a credit card number or for you to verify the routing and account numbers on the bottom of your checks. Before you know what has happened, they have hit you for hundreds or thousands of dollars. You have become a victim, too.
Some thieves even create elaborate emails and texts that appear to the untrained eye to come from legitimate business or websites. When you reply, you have allowed them carte blanche access to your electronic data. They have even been known to sell this information on a black market that is quite lucrative (for them).
But perhaps the most despicable thieves are your very own family members and friends. They notice credit card applications, social security printouts, and bank statements sitting on your table. A quick swipe of these papers and they are in your business, stealing your identity, and misusing it.
Protecting Yourself Is Vital
With the growing risks we all face, it is no small wonder that ID theft protection is a growing industry. Closely monitoring your credit reports, noting any unusual activity in your bank accounts, and watching for bizarre purchases on your credit cards are all important steps to take. They will ensure that your credit is not ruined and that you do not face hours trying to remediate the damage that has been done.
Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit public awareness group, says that the damage these thieves do goes well beyond just ruining your financial identity. Thieves destroy your emotional well-being, too. Victims feel betrayed, angry, embarrassed, and an overwhelming sense of guilt. These negative emotions make the arduous task of fixing your credit that much more difficult to follow through with.
Having ID theft protection steps in place will ensure you do not become part of this alarming statistic. It is wise to take advantage of the free yearly credit reports offered, so you can track the activity on your financial accounts. Additional services like Credit.com’s free credit report card help you keep an eye on your credit health and will provide tips to help improve it.
Cleaning Up ID Theft Mess Is Not Easy
After your identity has been compromised, experts believe that you will spend between 60 and 200 hours trying to repair it. That translates to one and a half to five full work weeks for the average person. No one wants to lose that time when they are already so busy. You do not have to give up time better spent simply fixing a problem someone else created.
The voluminous research on this epidemic has shown that the more vigilant you are and the faster you act, the better chance you have of catching these thieves. However, protecting yourself prior to ever being targeted is the best advice anyone can follow.
Brangelina got millions for their wedding photos. What’s that got to do with identity theft? Nothing! But these famous people know what to do with their photos and personal information. They make money out of it! They make millions and millions! Now for mere mortals like us, we should just keep our private information, photos, and videos…well …private! Because if we can’t make money out of them (probably we won’t!) then everything we post online is just a magnet for identity theft. But then, who can avoid the temptation to brag. So my suggestion is to get LIfelock. If you can’t make money out of all your posts online, you might as well protect yourself. Because if you don’t have Lifelock, you might even lose money with all the things you post online 🙂
The internet is really making it so much easier for the identity thieves. I mean, just look at the social networks online. The wealth of information available to anybody is massive. Come on! I can easily grab a profile photo of a friend of mine and use her personal information. Come to thnk of it, I don’t even need to get her personal information online. I know it. But I can definitely use her photo. Gosh! Even those photos can get anyone in trouble!
Now, I’m having second thoughts in posting all our photos online. It’s that easy to steal someone else’s identity with the onset of all these social networks online.
I don’t think a lot of people understand the seriousness of identity theft. The mere fact that people still post every single information about themselves online just shows they don’t understand how real this crime is. Sad to say, they have to be a victim first.
Sad to say but you’re right! Identity thieves are “getting craftier” and it’s going to be hard to beat them. The best way to deal with identity theft is to just protect ourselves.
Identity thieves will do anything to fool us. I almost fell for an email that told me to update my profile. Good thing I ignored it.We should really be careful these days.
There are really some things that we should keep to ourselves. We shouldn’t post EVERYTHING online. I’m beginning to realize all that now.
There’s this one kind of email I’ve been getting for the past weeks. It’s asking me to update all my personal information (name, date of birth, country). So according to the email if I don’t update my account, I would lose all my emails. It looked so real because it even had the logo of my search engine, Fortunately, I’ve been reading about identity theft on your website so I kinda had a feeling it was a scam. Anyway, I didn’t bother with the email. I still haven’t lost any email since then.
It’s shocking to know how criminals make money out of our personal details. But here’s my thought on identity theft. Banks should also have stringent rules when it comes to loan and credit card application. They also need to do their share to avoid identity theft.