Identity Theft - Are you Vulnerable?

Identity theft is a common occurrence in our society. For most people, identity theft is something that happens to another person that is careless. However, identity theft can strike anyone, including people that take precautions. Although you can never guarantee that identity theft will not strike you, here are some the ways to reduce the risk that your identity will be stolen.

Identity theft is defined as when a person steals your real world identity in order to commit fraud. Identity theft affects millions of people each year and can cause financial damages and big headaches to people that have had their identity stolen.

Identity can occur in several ways, through hackers stealing personal information from large companies such as credit card companies or data wholesalers, by a computer user unknowingly divulging personal information to criminals and by merchants having access to your account details and personal information.

Many people are completely vulnerable when a bank or data wholesaler loses your information. There is nothing usually a private citizen can do since they do not control how the information is kept and transferred. Millions of people at once can be exposed to identity theft through these types of compromises. The best way to protect yourself is to check your credit report at least once a year to determine if any other entity tried to take out a loan or credit card without your authorization.

If you are notified by a company that your identity may have been compromised or see suspicious activity on your credit report, contact all three credit reporting agencies to make them aware that an identity theft has occurred. They will usually lock down your report and will not let credit cards and other financial institutions allow new credit or loans without checking with you first.

If you are surfing online, be careful who you give your personal information too. Many times emails are sent to you that look legitimate asking for personal or financial information. Never click on any links in your email. Always close your email, open up a new browser window and contact the company directly. These types of emails are called spoofing and they phish or look for unsuspecting people to give them their personal and financial information which is then used to commit fraud.

Another way your identity can be stolen is by merchants that process your transactions. There are some cases where a restaurant or gas station steals personal and credit card information from its customers. Although very difficult to stop, make sure that you give your credit card to businesses that are very transparent and have a low risk of fraud. So if you would like to reduce the risk of identity theft, take note of the above suggestions.

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