Identity theft is a serious cause for alarm.  The Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than nine million Americans have their identities stolen each year.  If you’re fortunate enough to discover your identity has been stolen and report it quickly most cases are resolved quickly.

In many cases you’re not aware of the theft until contacted by officials or perhaps a bill collector.  This has given the thief lots of time to do irreparable damage to your credit standing and charge thousands of dollars in your name.  It could cost you several hundred dollars and weeks to repair the damage done.  In some cases the harm is never completely rectified.

Identity theft is defined as a form of fraud.  The thief pretends to be someone else and using that person’s identity he or she can obtain money or gain other benefits.  If he steals your good name, he’s now able to access anything you could access and spend as much money that’s available in your name.  As far as other people know, it’s you who’s using your name and you can be held responsible for the criminal’s actions.

Authorities have categorized identity theft into four different areas:

•    Financial Identity Theft in order to obtain goods and services

•    Criminal Identity Theft when the thief is apprehended for a crime while posing as you

•    Business and Commercial Identity Theft, which is using another’s name to obtain credit

•    Identity cloning which allows someone to assume your identity in daily life by using your information – this has been done with IDs from both the living and the dead.

With today’s high tech methods, identity theft is easier than ever before.  Crooks can hack into your computer or business records to obtain the needed information.  You’d be surprised how much personal information can be easily obtained from public records searches.

With high amplification hearing devices, thieves can eavesdrop on public transactions in the bank and other money lending institutions.  Dispose of your old computer carefully.  It’s full of valuable information about you.

Other methods are not quite so high tech.  Many thieves will steal your mail or rummage through your garbage searching for credit card and social security numbers.  Hang on to your purse or wallet.  Pickpockets are talented and will be gone with your valuable information in an instant.

Never give out personal information on the phone unless you know your party.  Identity theft is done every day on the phone by someone posing as a bank or credit card official.
Beware of someone offering you a job and asking you to fill out an application form.  Don’t do it unless you know the business is legitimate.

Identity theft has become increasingly serious because of the growing problems with illegal immigration and terrorism.  You may think you won’t be a victim and it only happens to someone else.  You become careless and thieves spot you as an easy target.

Always be vigilant.  Identity theft can happen to anyone.

Identity Theft is big business. It nets thieves more than 50 billion dollars each year and most of them are never caught, fined or punished. You are the one who’s punished with loss of time, money and many times your good name. Identity theft occurs several times every minute of every day. No one is safe.

Every individual is vulnerable but be extra vigilant if you’re a small business owner or heavily invested in real estate. This could easily affect your business and your livelihood. Business identity theft has caused many businesses to declare bankruptcy in a last ditch effort to resolve the problem.

What can you do to deter being a victim? Actually a lot and most of the suggested measures cost nothing. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to deter, detect and defend.

Deter by safe guarding your precious personal information. Guard your social security number and never put it online. Only reveal the last four numbers to even a known entity. Even children are becoming victims of social security number theft because the theft is likely to go unnoticed for years due to the inactivity of a child’s card.

Detect suspicious activity by routinely monitoring all financial accounts. When you receive a credit card statement in the mail check each transaction and match it with a receipt. Be watchful for any untypical or unusually large transaction. At times however, thieves will keep transactions purposely small to avoid suspicion.

Defend against identity theft by reporting it as soon as you suspect a problem.
Correcting the problem can be a long and detailed process and the sooner you get started the sooner the crime will be solved and hopefully the criminal punished.

Never throw away any bank or credit card statements. If you feel you don’t need them anymore shred them. A home shredder can be purchased inexpensively and should pay for itself with peace of mind.

Dumpster diving is quite common in all neighborhoods with crooks searching for thrown away financial statements. It’s not uncommon for thieves to steal your address and divert your mail to another location in order to receive your financial statements. By the time this is discovered, the thieves are long gone.

Beware of phishing. This is a method where someone pretends to be calling from a financial institution and asks for personal and financial information. Even if you think the call is legitimate tell them you’ll call them back. Look up the number. Don’t call the one they might give you.

Don’t use obvious passwords such as your birth date. Use a password or other safety check that only you would know. Keep valuable information in a safe place at home out of sight of visitors whether they are friends or maids.

If all this sounds like too much trouble, ask yourself how much loss and uncertainty you’re willing to accept. And remember, much of the loss, even though it’s your identity, can leave you feeling violated causing great emotional stress. At the very least take sensible precautions for yourself and your family.