is any one out there, worried about the fastest growing white collored crime called identity theft?

Question

if so, then what is your solution. the ftc just announced that there are over 9 million cases of identity theft last year alone

Answer 1

I keep my credit history in the tank, default on any loans or cards I take out, get my car repo'd. Then no one wants to steal my credit!



Just kidding. Honestly, there is no surefire way to prevent any of this from happening - you'd do better to prevent cancer. You have a choice, though - you can live your life worried every day that someone will steal your identity, signing up for all kinds of programs and spending tons of money to try to keep your information protected - or you can simply do a few minor things to keep the majority of thieves out of your personal information - such as not giving people your social security number unless it's someone you trust (like your bank).



You should check your credit report once a year - it's free at www.annualcreditreport.com - and dispute anything you don't believe to be yours. I've used credit watchdogs before, they alert you any time your credit is checked, but after about 6 months it drove me crazy so I stopped it.



One other thing you can do is to put a block on your credit reports - you can do that by contacting each of the 3 agencies. Then, any time an application for you comes through, the agency that's running the application has to check VerID. It's a program that does a general background check on you, and they ask a few random questions, multiple choice, for you to answer. For example, they'll ask you something like, "which of the following homes have you owned or lived at?" Then they'll give you a list of 4 or 5 addresses, and you have to pick the right one. The can ask you about people you know and their age range, cars you've owned - any number of things. In this way, anyone trying to steal your identity would have an even harder time to get that info.



They say that the average burgler will only spend 2 minutes trying to break into a home. After that, they figure it's just not easy enough, and move on to the next target. I'd like to say that it takes longer than that to break into my credit.

Answer 2

The truth is that all types of identity theft/fraud cannot be prevented. Even if a person takes every precaution, an identity thief can steal and use your identity. There is no such thing as true prevention and a better term would be identity theft awareness.

There are several different forms of identity theft/fraud like you have mentioned. Most people think of identity theft/fraud in terms of economic or financial identity theft but criminal identity theft, income tax identity theft, medical identity theft, driver's history identity theft, and synthetic identity theft, etc. are all huge problems facing each and every citizen.

In regards to economic or financial identity theft, a person needs to safeguard their personal and financial information, shred all documents containing personal or financial information which is being discarded, and be extremely careful when giving this information to a person or business.

Every citizen should monitor their credit histories regularly. Consumers are allowed one free credit report per year and some states require two free reports per year. Some identity theft protection companies had been using a tactic of placing a fraud alert on their customers credit histories every 90 days but can no longer do so because of a federal court decision. These fraud alerts are free and are guaranteed by federal acts. Any individual can still place a fraud alert on their history by contacting one of the three major credit reporting agencies however no company can place it for them and then charge a fee, it is a free service. An extended fraud alert is available for individuals who have been a victim of an identity fraud which will last for seven years. The request must be in writing and accompanied by a police report.

Another option for the consumer is to place a credit freeze or security freeze on their history. These may cost the consumer for the initial freeze, any temporary lifts of the freeze, and cancellation of the freeze. The fees will vary from the three reporting agencies and also depends on which state the consumer resides in.

As for other forms of identity fraud, I would suggest that a person pull their criminal history and driver's history every few years. A person can check with the Social Security Administration and request an earnings statement each year.

Criminal identity fraud is common and can cause the victim an enormous amount of stress, money in legal fees, and also the chance of being incarcerated. The best that anyone can hope for in these cases is that police agencies verify each case to make certain that victims of these identity frauds are not wrongly arrested.

Answer 3

I have 3 antivirus systems 1 firewall, 3 malware tools. And i always shred docs with any of my details on them. I burn the bank statements i dont need. When i need to pay for something on the phone i do it in a very dark and possibly sound proofed place. Also, when i buy online i write my details backwards and upside down. That seems to work just fine.