Identity theft - one of the most overhyped fears of our time

A leading identity theft expert used the credit industry?s annual conference to show that the government has massively over-hyped public fear of the extent of identity fraud to sell its Identity Cards Bill.

He also urged the credit industry not to join the bandwagon by selling over-priced prevention products to over-anxious consumers, and to help combat the crime by supporting victims more readily.

Barry Stamp, Joint Managing Director of
checkmyfile.com, presented to leading credit industry figures at the Institute of Credit Management?s National Conference.

He showed how the government?s estimated figure of ?1.72bn worth of losses to the UK economy, caused by identity fraud, has been massively over-inflated. In particular, these include the costs of security checks for routine government functions and losses that reasonably cannot be included within the general understanding of identity fraud.

This has whipped up public fear and in doing so is likely to obtain wider public support for the introduction of identity cards.

?The largest single component of the government?s ?1.72bn estimate is ?504.8m worth of losses relating to plastic card fraud, taken from the figures reported in April 2005 by APACS. Closer examination of the APACS figures show that losses from identity fraud account for just over 7% of overall card fraud, so the true losses are only ?36.9m. This example is one of many that clearly illustrates how the government has used a creative approach to the definition of what is and is not included within identity theft losses,? said Stamp.

?Going on to include the ?62.8m cost of the measures to counter identity fraud when processing passport applications, and another ?34.8m for things like unpaid fines where the offender doesn?t turn up at court are further examples of how the definition has been stretched?.

?In reality, identity fraud is a fast growing crime, but losses in the UK are probably running closer to ?150m at the moment?.

Stamp warned: ?While the risk is real, and consumers need to increase their awareness, there really is no excuse for the government to strike fear of falling victim to identity theft into consumers for political advantage. If the credit industry exploits that fear to promote over-priced identity theft protection products to replace waning income streams from payment protection insurance, then that would be totally unacceptable.?

?If the problem is as large as it is claimed to be, then I would very much like to know why Police resources have not been strengthened to combat the crime. Of the many hundreds of cases of identity theft that checkmyfile.com has reported to the Police, not one has been pursued to court action.?

?Any consideration of the effectiveness of identity cards should also bear in mind the state of some of our existing national databases.? says Stamp. ?In the UK, our government just isn?t very good at collecting personal data or maintaining it, so what reasonable person might assume that the National Identity Register might be any different? In the UK we don?t even have a central point of reference to check whether cards or any other identification documents are lost or stolen, as exists in other countries, nor have I seen any plans to build one.?

Stamp, author of ?Identity Theft, Prevention and Victim Assistance?, and whose company checkmyfile.com provides consumers with access to a wide range of databases, and supplies identity restoration services to a leading insurance company, urged credit managers who attended the ICM National Conference to follow the lead of some lenders who offer free identity theft prevention advice and to work together to combat the crime.

Philip King, the newly appointed Director General of the ICM, fully supports such an industry initiative. He said: ?Credit managers working together have shown in the past that losses from criminal actions, such as mortgage fraud, can be prevented by sharing intelligence. Identity theft presents a very similar challenge to our industry and we now need to focus on addressing the issue professionally?.

Criminal Identity Theft - Don't Let Your Good Name End up in a Criminal Database!

Criminal Identity Theft - don't think it can't happen to you! Stolen identities have ended up in criminal databases. Learn how to protect yourself, and not become a victim.

You're driving on road one night, then you notice there's a police cruiser following close behind you. You figure the cop just wants to pass you, so you move over one lane, except he moves over too and stays on your tail, then you see the flashing red & blue lights then "Woooop!!! wooooop!!!" You must be wondering why you were pulled over. You weren't speeding nor breaking any traffic laws and your tag is not expired. Maybe it's just a burned out taillight. "Sir may I see your driver's license and registration please." Then comes the shocker! "SIR... step out of the vehicle." You get patted down for weapons, drugs, etc.. "You're under arrest for outstanding warrants." On go the handcuffs "Zzzzkkkkkk! Zzzzkkkkkk!" "You have the right to remain silent..." By now, you must be thinking "OH S---!!!". "I've never been arrested in my life!" After you've been booked at the county jail, strip searched, fingerprinted, and maybe spent the weekend in the slammer, you go before the judge only to find out you're free to go, all charges dropped because it turns out you're not the person they were looking for.

Is this a case of mistaken identity, or more likely, a case of STOLEN IDENTITY, or criminal identity fraud. The most common scenario is during a traffic citation or misdemeanor arrest, the imposter fraudulently provides to an officer-of-the-law somebody else's identification, usually always that of a friend or relative, then skip town and simply not pay the fine or fail to make the required court appearance. Unlike financial identity theft, the victim is usually always known to the imposter. The judge will then issue a warrant for his arrest. In many cases, the imposter either stole or fraudulently acquired a phony driver's license or other ID, or simply "borrowed" the victim's name as an alias. The impostor is most often wanted on outstanding warrants for failure to appear. The victim is usually arrested during a routine traffic stop. This type of identity theft commonly occurs where the age and physical appearance of the two are similar. Police are tending to be much more cautious today in order to avoid false arrest lawsuits, but the system has a long way to go. Fortunately, unlike financial, criminal identity fraud is relatively rare.

In a few cases serious offenses such as DUI and felonies were committed in the victim's name and the person's name ends up in the criminal database system. The victim might in for a real shock when he is told he cannot buy a gun because he failed the instant background check, or is one day called into his boss's office, to be informed he is being fired because a criminal record showed up in a routine employee background check. In the end you probably wished this imposter were caught in Saudi Arabia where he would be sentenced to 100 lashes in the public square.

Unfortunately, the criminal justice system does not yet have a decent contingency plan in place to clear an innocent person's name. The burdon of clearing one's name lies mostly with the accused, sometimes with steep attorney's fees.

Procedures to clear your name from criminal databases varies according to state, or even individual counties. Some states already have special procedures in place for victims of criminal identity theft. Ask your state Attorney General's office.

If wrongful criminal offenses are linked to your name, first contact the original arresting police/sheriff's department who originally arrested the impostor, or else the court who issued the arrest warrant and file an impersonation report with them, and confirm your identity. Ask the police department to take your fingerprints, photograph you, and make official copies of your photo IDs, I.e.: driver's license, passport, etc.. To claim your innocence, ask the police to compare your fingerprints and photos with the imposter's.

Maintain a detailed log of all your phone conversions, paperwork, email messages, contacts, etc.. Keep a detailed record of all your expenses incurred. When writing the authorities you should always use certified mail with return receipt. Email is generally not considered secure for sending confidential private information, so it's not recommended if you can avoid it. The rule is never send out something via email that would not want to share with the public. Changing your social security number is rarely recommended as that usually causes more problems than it solves.

If the arrest warrant is from another state or county, ask your local police dept. to forward your impersonation report to the agency of the jurisdiction where the arrest warrant, traffic citation, or criminal conviction originated.

The police/sheriff's dept should recall any arrest warrants and issue you a clearance letter or certificate of release in the event you were arrested and booked. It's essential to keep this document with you at all times in case you might be falsely arrested again. Have official copies made at the courthouse, in case it gets lost. Ask the agency to file the record of the follow-up investigation establishing your innocence at the D.A's office and/or the court in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. This will result in an amended complaint. Unfortunately once your name ends up in a criminal database, it's difficult to get it completely removed. Ask that the key name or primary name be changed from yours to the imposter's name, or else to "John Doe" if the imposter's true identity is unknown, with your name noted as an alias.

You will also want to clear your name within the court records. Determine which state law(s) will help you with this and how. If your state has no formal procedure for clearing your record, contact the D.A.'s office in the county where the case was originally prosecuted. Ask the D.A.'s office for the appropriate court records needed to clear your name. Unfortunately in some situations, you may have no choice but to hire an attorney to help you clear your good name. You may want to ask your state DMV if your driver's license was used by the imposter. Ask them to flag your files for possible fraud.

Overall, your best defense is prevention. Pick your friends carefully, and safeguard your drivers license, passports or other forms of ID.

Fred Appleyard Jr. - Visit http://www.beyourowndetective.com to learn more about identity fraud and private investigation. Get the latest tools to help you conduct your investigations.

All HYIPs Are Scams

High Yield Interest Programs, or HYIP for short, are all scams. It is easy to say that objectively but sometimes hard to believe when faced with something that sounds very good. Especially in this day when people are having a harder time making ends meet, something that is listed as a guarantee return is very tempting. The old saying of if it sounds too good to be true than it probably is fits HYIPs very well.

Part of the problem is that HYIPs are not always called by this name. Others are used so even someone who knows to stay away from them might be lured in with a different name. The biggest give away that HYIPs are scams is that people are told there is no risk. This should send red flags off in anyone's head. When it comes to investing money there is always a risk, even if it's minute. As well as the fact that the higher the risk the more money that can be made. It's like when someone gambles, if the stakes are 2 to 1 you won't earn as much as if they are 50 to 1. Less people take the 50 to 1 odds and so less money has to be paid out to the winners. However those that do win win a lot and if they lose they lose a lot too. Being told that you will get all your money back plus a percentage guaranteed is not feasible. No matter what the investor says they know.

Of course it doesn't help that these scam artists have done this thousands of times before and know exactly what to say to the unsuspecting person. They will say that they have done it for so many years, or the company they work for has, or something along those lines. It may be true they have taken money from people for years, the actual payback they have not. One thing that should make a person suspicious is why would they be calling you, a stranger, to benefit from this "guaranteed" investment? They wouldn't. They would be doing it themselves over and over to become rich and maybe telling their families and close friends. No person who has found a way to make money easily, legally, quickly, is going to tell the secret to a complete stranger just to be able to use someone else's money for the return, even if they are taking a percentage of it. It comes down to using common sense to realize it's a scam.

Raiel Schwartz has been in the HYIP Arena for several months and has been able to create a successful income online with HYIP Investing. He has recently wrote a report entitled Riding The Ponzi which outlines basic rules all HYIP Investors should know

How To Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

While nothing is ever foolproof you can learn how to protect yourself from identity theft. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America today with victims reporting new cases to authorities at an alarming rate.

Last year alone in 2004, more than 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft scams. Those crimes cost them nearly $5 billion. That number of victims and their losses are probably much higher. Several cases go unreported because people are either embarrassed that it happened to them or have no idea where to report it when it does happen.

First, here are a few ways to prevent identity theft so you have less chance of it happening to you. A very important step in learning how to avoid identity theft is to keep a close watch on all of your personal information and your credit report.

Check your credit reports from all three credit bureaus at least once a year to see that everything is accurate. If you find an error, dispute it immediately so you can protect yourself against fraud. Similar names and similar social security numbers often get mixed up, or even worse, someone could have stolen your identity.

Another way to prevent identity theft is not to carry your Social Security card or anything with your Social Security number on it in your wallet. Keep your social security number private because someone could easily steal your identity with your number.

The same goes for your bank card pin number because it makes it easy for a thief who has stolen your wallet to help themselves to your bank account at an A.T.M.

Other ways to prevent identity theft also need to be applied to the Internet. If you use the Internet, make sure all your security software like virus protection and spyware software is up to date. Be aware of Internet scams that ask for any personal or password information.

Legitimate businesses will never send you an e-mail asking you to confirm your personal identifying information. So never give out personal information unless you initiated the contact or you're absolutely sure who you're dealing with.

Also be especially careful about giving your credit card number over the phone to telemarketers. While most companies are legitimate this is a popular way for thieves to obtain your name, address and credit card number.

So what happens if you do become a victim and what is involved in reporting identity theft? Here is the information for the agencies you need to contact.

1. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.

Equifax: 800-525-6285

Experian: 888-397-3742

TransUnion: 800-680-7289

2. Close all of the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use an ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts. The credit bureaus will help you with this step.

3. File a police report. Get a copy of the police report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime. If you don't file the police report you may have trouble proving this actually happened.

4. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps them learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having.

Visit the Federal Trade Commission's Web site at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft . The FTC provides educational materials and self-help tools, as well as an online reporting form. The FTC also maintains a toll-free hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT, with consumer counselors available to assist victims.

If you've had bank accounts set up fraudulently in your name, call these check guarantee companies: Telecheck at 800-366-2425; and the International Check Services Company at 800-526-5380. They can flag your file so that counterfeit checks will be refused.

If your crime was email related, the best place to report email scams is The Internet Fraud Complaint Center or (IFCC). They are a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). Their web address is: http://www1.ifccfbi.gov

The bottom line is keep any personal information about you private so you won't become a new victim of this terrible crime. Using these tips to learn how to protect yourself from identity theft and reporting it to the proper authorities will give you a better chance of avoiding this nightmare for you and everyone around you.

This article is provided by http://www.spyware-information.com where you will find free spyware cleaners, downloads, removal software, valuable tips and updated articles about adware and spyware removal programs to protect your identity. For other informative spyware and adware articles go to http://spyware-information.com/articles_1.html

 

What is Identity Theft ?

Does Identity Theft actually happen? How is it possible for someone to steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their hard-earned money - cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

How it works:

In recent years identity theft has been on the increase. By trickery, by stealing information from rubbish bins or office bins, or by using publicly available information, a crook obtains personal information about youfor example, date of birth and mother's maiden name. The result could be that the thief is able to obtain credit cards, take out loans, issue counterfeit cheques or credit cards and go on a spending spree in your name. In effect, they become you for the sole purpose of committing fraud or theft.

This type of crime also can go undetected for many months, if not years, because bills and other documents often are sent to fake addresses, not to your house. You may only become aware of the situation after unpaid and overdue bills begin to accumulate and your credit record has been downgraded. You may even be denied a loan or credit card, an apartment, a job or other opportunities because an identity thief ruined your credit rating.

Best defense:

To avoid credit card fraud protect all your credit card numbers, account passwords or other personal information. Be suspicious of unsolicited offers that seem too good to be true, because they could be fraudulent attempts to get your bank account numbers or other personal information.

If credit cards or IDs of any kind are missing, immediately notify the issuers. Pay attention to your bank and credit card statements, and quickly report a suspected fraud.

If Your Personal Information Has Been Lost or Stolen:

If you've lost personal information or identification, or if it has been stolen from you, taking certain steps quickly can minimize the potential for identity theft. Close accounts, like credit cards and bank accounts, immediately. When you open new accounts, place passwords on them. Avoid using your mother's maiden name, your birth date or your phone number.

You may freely reprint this article provided the author's biography remains intact:

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.