Identity Theft
Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities fraudulently used each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion ("Identity Theft"). By the time one has fallen victim, their identity has already been stolen. Does this not make you wonder if you are not already one of the 15 billion victims? Close to 100 million additional Americans have their personal identifying information placed at risk of identity theft each year when records maintained in government and corporate databases are lost or stolen ("Identity Theft"). It is not a lonely life in the victim experience of Identity Theft. Many people do not realize that even the simplest of everyday acts make them vulnerable to identity thieves. There are
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many ways in which thieves steal identities, including; phishing, skimming, pharming, dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, vishing, smishing, and ordinary theft of personal items such as mail, personal files, credit cards, wallets, cellphones, and debit cards. For some that may not know about phishing, pharming, skimming, vishing, and smishing some examples are; receiving emails attempting to have you divulge your personal information, accessing fraudulent websites that are intended to gain your personal information, paying for a bill at your favorite fast food place with your credit card and the cashier skims/scans your card with an electronic device that stores all of the information tagged on your card into a mobile device. (“How does identity theft happen?”) Next, receiving a phone call from a supposed company claiming that if you send a percentage of the total that will be sent to your account, they will send you money for winning a drawing that you never signed up for. Also, receiving a SMS text message stating that the receiver of the message has won a prize and it provides a link to click that will transfer all of your information from your mobile device into their storage for future use. For one who wants to avoid falling into these traps, there are many precautions accessible in situations that will make you vulnerable to identity theft. In the event one wants to avoid falling victim to identity theft, the precautions can include guarding your personal files.
“(Identity Theft Protection Tips”) To ensure files are secured, one must not post important personal information online. Also, one should change passwords to their accounts frequently and think outside of the box when it comes to thinking about said passwords to ensure no one can easily access the accounts. Establishing a secure lock on all of your personal and important files will consummate the needed security to keep thieves unable to access what you want kept private. Next, close all compromised cards and charge accounts. Once bank accounts and credit cards are compromised, they need to be eliminated and handled delicately. This is to confirm that the actual account holder is not aware of what is occurring within their account due to a lost or stolen card and will not be held responsible for any actions taking play after the report is documented. Another way to ensure one’s identity is still held firmly within their own grasp is to regularly check their credit reports to establish that no one is using your name for their own benefits nor your bank account for their own personal gain and thoroughly inspect their bank statements to clarify that all of the transactions, from withdraws to deposits, are correctly documented. If one should find themselves in a predicament as such, they have many options to chose from to report the identity crisis being
committed. Need to know how to report the identity problem at hand? There are many ways to address the issue. One way to solve a case of identity theft is to report it to the police. However, reporting your identity theft case to the police is not as effective as reporting your case to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC is equipped with the most knowledgeable and experienced workers in this field of study. When addressing the FDIC with your reported problem, it can range from anywhere between one day to years to recover from identity theft. The recovering range has a lot to consider in order to establish a recovery timeline. ("FTC Complaint Assistant.")The following topics are taken into consideration when attempting to recover from identity theft; How long it took for the victim to learn about his or her stolen identity, the victim's credit report and credit worthiness before becoming a victim, the type of theft that occurred (lost or stolen wallet or purse, computer virus, family member using victim's personal information, etc.), whether or not the thief used the personal information himself or herself or sold it to other thieves, creating much more damage and headaches for the victim, and whether or not authorities caught the thief ("IdentityHawk").
Close to 100 million additional Americans have their personal identifying information placed at risk of identity theft each year when records maintained in government and corporate databases are lost or stolen. This is a small number when combined with the many ways that one’s identity can be stolen such as; phishing, pharming, skimming, vishing, and smishing. In the event that an individual falls victim to identity theft, the individual has options of recovery. Remember, no one is alone in this, Identity Theft is everywhere.
many ways in which thieves steal identities, including; phishing, skimming, pharming, dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, vishing, smishing, and ordinary theft of personal items such as mail, personal files, credit cards, wallets, cellphones, and debit cards. For some that may not know about phishing, pharming, skimming, vishing, and smishing some examples are; receiving emails attempting to have you divulge your personal information, accessing fraudulent websites that are intended to gain your personal information, paying for a bill at your favorite fast food place with your credit card and the cashier skims/scans your card with an electronic device that stores all of the information tagged on your card into a mobile device. (“How does identity theft happen?”) Next, receiving a phone call from a supposed company claiming that if you send a percentage of the total that will be sent to your account, they will send you money for winning a drawing that you never signed up for. Also, receiving a SMS text message stating that the receiver of the message has won a prize and it provides a link to click that will transfer all of your information from your mobile device into their storage for future use. For one who wants to avoid falling into these traps, there are many precautions accessible in situations that will make you vulnerable to identity theft. In the event one wants to avoid falling victim to identity theft, the precautions can include guarding your personal files.
“(Identity Theft Protection Tips”) To ensure files are secured, one must not post important personal information online. Also, one should change passwords to their accounts frequently and think outside of the box when it comes to thinking about said passwords to ensure no one can easily access the accounts. Establishing a secure lock on all of your personal and important files will consummate the needed security to keep thieves unable to access what you want kept private. Next, close all compromised cards and charge accounts. Once bank accounts and credit cards are compromised, they need to be eliminated and handled delicately. This is to confirm that the actual account holder is not aware of what is occurring within their account due to a lost or stolen card and will not be held responsible for any actions taking play after the report is documented. Another way to ensure one’s identity is still held firmly within their own grasp is to regularly check their credit reports to establish that no one is using your name for their own benefits nor your bank account for their own personal gain and thoroughly inspect their bank statements to clarify that all of the transactions, from withdraws to deposits, are correctly documented. If one should find themselves in a predicament as such, they have many options to chose from to report the identity crisis being
committed. Need to know how to report the identity problem at hand? There are many ways to address the issue. One way to solve a case of identity theft is to report it to the police. However, reporting your identity theft case to the police is not as effective as reporting your case to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC is equipped with the most knowledgeable and experienced workers in this field of study. When addressing the FDIC with your reported problem, it can range from anywhere between one day to years to recover from identity theft. The recovering range has a lot to consider in order to establish a recovery timeline. ("FTC Complaint Assistant.")The following topics are taken into consideration when attempting to recover from identity theft; How long it took for the victim to learn about his or her stolen identity, the victim's credit report and credit worthiness before becoming a victim, the type of theft that occurred (lost or stolen wallet or purse, computer virus, family member using victim's personal information, etc.), whether or not the thief used the personal information himself or herself or sold it to other thieves, creating much more damage and headaches for the victim, and whether or not authorities caught the thief ("IdentityHawk").
Close to 100 million additional Americans have their personal identifying information placed at risk of identity theft each year when records maintained in government and corporate databases are lost or stolen. This is a small number when combined with the many ways that one’s identity can be stolen such as; phishing, pharming, skimming, vishing, and smishing. In the event that an individual falls victim to identity theft, the individual has options of recovery. Remember, no one is alone in this, Identity Theft is everywhere.