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Archive for Identity theft

Identity Theft Prevention – Protecting Your Personal Information

Thursday, October 15th, 2009
by Jake M. Black

Identity theft prevention can be achieved in just a few simple steps. Your personal and private information is very important and if someone should be using that information illegally then this can be very damaging and cause problems for many years. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your information is hard to access making it hard for others to access it.

The most popular stolen information is social security numbers, phone calling cards, debit card information and credit card information. Criminals still use the old trided and true method of going through trash to collect documents that contain your personal information. However those with a lot of experience with computers can hack their way into your system to obtain your information.

To stop individuals from obtaining your personal information you need to destroy and personal statements that contain any of your financial information. This means that before you throw out the statements or recycle them you need to rip them up or shred them. Shredding is the best as the document cannot be reassembled afterwards.

You should never carry around your social security card but keep it locked up in a safe and fire proof place. Other cards that have your social security number should also be kept safe. It is also important to not leave any type of paper trail so make sure you either take all of your ATM, and receipts with you or don’t request a receipt.

You only get one social security card and to keep this safe and protected it should be locked away in a fireproof place. You should never carry around your social security card. You also do not want to leave a paper trail and if you collect your ATM recipets, gas resipets etc. You need to destroy them or don’t get a receipt.

Always keep your credit cards on you and don’t let it out of your sight. If possible pay with cash when you can as any time you take your card out is the opportunity for someone to steal your number. Also make sure you know who is asking for your private and personal information. If someone calls from a bank make sure that their request is legitimate. If necessary you can contact the company yourself to ensure that they have requested that information.

You can significantly decrease the number of bogus requests your recieve over the phone by having your phone number put on a do not call list. It can also help to always be on the defensive and when individuals ask for your drivers license or social security number ask them if some other form of identification will do. Many times this information is not necessary.

About the Author:
Identity Theft is a massive crime sweeping the US in recent years. You must protect your ID today. Identity Theft Agency Protection Reviews

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Facebook users at risk of ID theft

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

It has been revealed that Facebook users are putting themselves at serious risk of becoming an unwitting victim of ID theft. Even posting just a few private details on your Facebook page can give fraudsters enough information to cause serious damage.

Using the information that they have come across on people’s Facebook pages, fraudsters are able to open bank accounts and take out credit cards and personal loans in their victim’s name.

The warning was sounded by a BBC1 consumer show Watchdog. The show conducted an experiment in which they set up a fictional identity on Facebook. The Watchdog team then invited 100 random people to become friends with their newly created fictional character ‘Amba’.

35 of those invited to become Amba’s friend immediately accepted the request despite knowing nothing about her. By accepting, the victims allowed the fictional Watchdog character to view any private details that they had posted on their page.

Details which could easily be accessed included date of birth as well as hometown. The Watchdog team then used these details in order to obtain more private details about their victims from other publicly available websites.

With this information Watchdog then opened up an online bank account in their victims’ names as well as successfully applying for credit cards.

One of the victims, Scott Gould, stated that he was “very surprised” by what Watchdog managed to do despite having only the slightest bits of information about him.

Users of Facebook as well as all other social networking sights are advised to be very careful when posting their details. Fraudsters often leave a trail of bad debts behind them, in Your name. Not only is the onus on you to prove that you are not responsible, it is hard work correcting your damaged credit rating.

Posted in Bad Credit, Banking, Borrowing, Card fraud, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Credit record, Financial news, Fraud, Identity theft, Personal loans, Spending, UK Finance, Unsecured loans | No Comments »

Old Credit Cards – Credit Fraud Risk

Monday, October 1st, 2007

Identity fraud is a growing concern in the UK with many Britons falling victim and costing the economy an estimated £1.7 billion a year.  One way that people can fall victim is by leaving unused credit card accounts open.  According to Apacs, at the end of 2006 31.5 million people in the UK held an average of 2 personal credit and charge cards.  However, according to the research there are around one in three cards that are no longer active, which can cause concern for some.  One reason why someone may no longer use a credit card account is because they originally opened the account to take advantage of the 0% interest on balance transfers and once the balance was paid off they never used the card because of the high interest rate, or because they transferred the balance over to another 0% credit card once the offer has expired.  This means that there are many people who are moving their balances from one account to another account and often forgetting to close the account once it is no longer in use.

If you fail to cancel your cards once you stop using them you may end up forgetting that you ever had them.  Often if your account has no activity you will most likely end up not receiving a statement to remind you of the account.  So if someone gets a hold of your information and changes the billing address, you will easily miss that and fall victim to identity fraud.  Once someone has your details they can easily go further and take out expensive personal loans or even mortgages in your name. Typically these fraudsters will very quickly default on payments, leaving the black marks on your credit record. Often the first you will know of the matter is when you yourself are turned down for loans or mortgages.

One way of protecting yourself is by checking your credit report, and if you find in-active accounts listed on your report, then you should close them the ensure you do not end up a victim of fraud.

Posted in Bad Credit, Borrowing, Card fraud, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Credit record, Fraud, Identity theft, mortgages, Personal loans, UK Finance, Zero percent cards | No Comments »

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