What is Identity Theft and How to Avoid

Date: 2010-02-08 18:37:12

By li baocai

Identity theft is a subject you may have heard a lot about recently, but perhaps you may not understand exactly what it is. To bring you up to speed, this article presents a brief overview of what identity theft is, and how you can take some steps you can take to avoid it.

First, it is important to understand that along with your name comes a record of information about you. This record contains information about things you do, how much money you make, where you work or go to school, where you live, what type of credit cards you have, your credit rating, Social Security number, phone number, and even the hobbies that you enjoy in your spare time.

This information is what makes up your identity. Identity theft occurs when someone obtains your personal information without your permission and uses it inappropriately to commit fraudulent acts. It is in effect "stolen" information, and therefore classified as "identity theft."

When someone steals personal information related to your identity -including passwords, PIN numbers and any debit cards and credit cards you may have, these thieves can use this information online or at traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to ring up large amounts of money in merchandise purchases. Unless you take quick steps to mitigate the damages and prove your identity was stolen, you are responsible to repay all purchases charged to your accounts.

Additionally, once these criminals have obtained your personal identity information they can also apply for new credit cards, take out a line of credit with a bank, buy a new car, take all the money out of your bank accounts, and perform other fraudulent actions that can turn your financial life into shambles.

Theft of identity is very lucrative for crooks, because those who obtain your personal information can use it to get "free money." Of course, it's only "free" to the I.D. thieves and not you - because it's money that you will have to repay.

Now that you know what identity theft is, you should take steps to protect your identity. Some things you can do to guard yourself includes the following:

1. Never give out passwords and PINs to your bank accounts.

2. Do not give personal information over the phone.

3. Beware of giving someone your full name and address, phone number, and other personal identifying information.

4. Shred all documents and mail containing your name and other identifying information before disposing of it.

5. Subscribe to an identity protection service to monitor your credit report and all of your personal information relating to your identity.

In conclusion, your identity is made up of many pieces of personal information that that can easily be obtained by criminals for illicit use. If someone steals your personal information, they can quickly cause great harm to your credit rating and finances. Take steps today to protect your personal information from theft and avoid becoming among the millions of people who are victims of identity theft each year.


Author

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