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Identity Theft - Understanding and Preventing the Fastest Growing Crime By Michael Solomon Identity theft is a crime that directly affected over 9.9 million people last year. That’s right, the US Postal Service reports that identity theft cost victims over $5 billion just last year. We all hear about identity theft, but what is it really? Simply put, identity theft is a crime that occurs when one person uses another person’s identity without that person’s knowledge or authority. Criminals can put a person’s identity to many uses. Some of the most common uses for someone else’s identity are:
- Open new credit accounts or loans
- Use existing credit accounts
- Get a job
- Commit a crime
- Buy a shredder and use it. Never throw away anything with personal information on it without shredding it first. Identity thieves can find a lot of useful information in most peoples’ trash cans. Once you throw it away, it is fair game. All a thief has to find is one “pre-approved” credit card application or an investment statement to make sorting through your garbage worth the effort.
- Never carry your Social Security card with you! Your social security number (SSN) provides access to your most private financial information. Don’t take the risk of letting it fall into the wrong hands. Also, make sure no other ID cards or accounts use your SSN as their ID number. Again, your SSN is too valuable to disclose.
- Do not leave your mail sitting in your mailbox for long periods of time. That “pre-approved” credit card offer just sits in your mailbox until you take it out. Do not give crooks extra time to sort through your mail. Likewise, do not send any sensitive mail, such as checks or applications with financial information, from your own mailbox. Raising the red flag on your mailbox alerts everybody that you have outgoing mail, even thieves. Use a secure drop box instead.
- Never divulge any personal information to anyone unless you initiated contact and know who you are talking to. Do not give out any information to anyone who calls you.
- Do NOT carry passwords or PINs in your wallet (or anywhere on your person). If a thief steals or finds your wallet with your ATM card and your PIN, nothing will stop him from draining your bank account.
- Destroy sensitive information when it is no longer needed. Shred all documents that contain personal information instead of storing them for long periods of time. Unless there is a real need for documents, such as tax supporting documents, get rid of old documents.
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Police Blotter: Retail Fraud, Identity Theft and Malicious Destruction of Property - Patch.com
Police Blotter: Retail Fraud, Identity Theft and Malicious Destruction of Property Patch.com By Art Aisner Bloomfield Township police officers investigated a retail fraud, identity theft and a home invasion last week. Bloomfield Township police are still investigating how a shoplifter was able to get away from the Bloomfield Township TJ Maxx ... VERONA: Unauthorized account access, criminal mischief, harassing phone calls ... |
Feds targeting tax return fraud - Gainesville Times
Feds targeting tax return fraud Gainesville Times The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department have been cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators to curb the growing issue of refund fraud and identity theft. IRS Spokesman Mark Green said the issue is a growing problem ... |
US Sweep to Rein in Identity Theft Targets 105, IRS Says - BusinessWeek
 Los Angeles Times | US Sweep to Rein in Identity Theft Targets 105, IRS Says BusinessWeek 31 (Bloomberg) -- A nationwide sweep to rein in identity theft and tax-refund fraud targeted 105 people in 23 states, leading to 939 criminal charges, including 58 arrests and 10 guilty pleas, according to the Internal Revenue Service. IRS Spearheads Bid to Head Off ID Theft IRS says 105 targeted in identity theft sweep |
IRS fighting identity theft, and you can too - Fort Worth Star Telegram
Los Angeles Times | IRS fighting identity theft, and you can too Fort Worth Star Telegram Some filers wait even longer, said Neil O'Farrell, executive director of the Identity Theft Council in Walnut Creek, Calif. Most of the tax fraud victims he has worked with have waited six months to a year for the IRS to work through and award the ... Some US banks awash in ID theft tax-fraud proceeds as IRS cracks down REGION: IRS cracks down on ID theft Nelson pledges help in ID theft |
ID theft complaints draw wide response - Anniston Star
ID theft complaints draw wide response Anniston Star by Brian Anderson Local and federal authorities Friday were investigating as the numbers of Calhoun County residents reporting cases of credit card fraud rose. Reports this week of residents who had money taken from their credit and debit card accounts ... |
Layne: Preventing ID theft is the best way to handle fraud - Martinsburg Journal
Layne: Preventing ID theft is the best way to handle fraud Martinsburg Journal CHARLES TOWN - The most important thing people can do to protect themselves from identity theft is to obtain their credit reports regularly, Argina Layne told the Eastern Panhandle Entrepreneurs Forum at its recent meeting. "Your credit score is the ... |