For those who think that identity
theft happens to people who are lazy and careless, you are seriously wrong folks!
It is one big misconception!
There is a huge amount of people
out there, who have access to your information. The store where you buy your
regular provisions, the reception guy of your most visited hotel, restaurant workers
who deliver to your home and an unknown social media friend. There are countless opportunities for fraud and scams to steal your private information without you knowing it.
- The problem of identity theft
Identity theft is not a small
problem at all. It is one of the fastest growingfraud and scams and a largely
reported crime of America, with a record of 9.9 million incidents per year.
Identity theft became a federal crime of the United States in 1998, after the
Identity Theft Assumption and Deterrence Act was passedto convict someone who
practicesfraud and scams.
The main significance of an
identity theft is the repeated targeting of a victim. For instance, your credit
card details have been stolen and the scammer has created a clone of your
credit card. He continuously uses it until you are completely robbed off your
money.
- How do scammers steal your identity?
These are the possible chances
for scammers to steal your identity
- By rummaging through residential trash cans or business dumping, to steal confidential information through paper.
- By hacking into corporate computers to steal employee information from the database.
- By stealing passwords or pins using software or trick the user into revealing such confidential information.
- How scammers use the stolen identity?
Once you have fallen victim to a
scammer, there are innumerable ways he can use your identity. Some of them are
as follows
- They open a new credit card account using the victim’s name. A scammer, who has followed you since long, will have all the necessary piece of information to get it done.
- They open a landline or cell phone account and bank account in the victim’s name.
- They take loans and mortgages in the name of the victim.
- They submit tax returns in the name of the victim and collect the refunds.
- Terrorists obtain false visas and passports, to avoid being tracked down after committing a terrorist activity.
- Example cases for identity theft
Andorie Sachs was a victim of
medical identity theft, which is an alarming category of fraud and scams which
is rising and spreading fast. Someone stole her driver’s license and used it in
a hospital for delivering baby. Sachs was shocked to receive a bill of $10,000
in her name.
Frank Abagnale was an infamous
con artist, check forgery expert and impostor. He is presently a fraud and
scams consultant working with the FBI. Leonardo DiCaprio’s film‘Catch Me If You
Can’ is based out of his life history. He has committed a huge number of
identity thefts including that of a doctor, pilot, US bureau of Prisons Agent
and a lawyer. He escaped from police custody twice and from prison even before
he was 21. He was later caught and convicted. After release, he started serving
the US government, to help assisting them on various financial and identity theft
crimes. Eventually he started his own firm, Abagnale& Associates, the
world’s leading financial security consulting firm.
Identity theft is a major part of
fraud and scams, which anybody can fall victims to. As soon as you realize that
any of your valid identity proof or credit card has been stolen, register a
complaint immediately and block the usage of your credit card. Shred your
confidential documents from time to time using a paper shredder. You can never
be assured safety in this world, but you have to stay alert and try to avoid
falling victims to such incidents as much as possible.
