Financial Trend Blog

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing problems in the US. According to the Identity Theft Research Center, there were 15 million identity theft victims in 2006 which is about a new victim every 2 seconds! In 2004 victims of identity theft spent an average of 330 hours often spanning over years to recover from this crime.

Even after the identity theft criminal stops using the victim’s identity, the victim generally has to deal with increased credit card and mortgage interest rates, increased insurance rates and fighting with creditors and collection agencies who refuse to update records despite having evidence of the crime. We should all take precautionary action to prevent thieves from racking up debt in our names and trashing our credit. Here are a few tips on how to protect yourself against identity theft and avoid such hassles:

Credit card fraud is a crime of deception. It occurs when someone pretends to be the cardholder and tricks a merchant (business, service provider, seller, etc.) into exchanging merchandise or rendering services while maintaining the belief that the credit card account will provide payment for services. Almost always the merchant eventually learns that they will not be paid, or the payment they received will be reclaimed by the card’s issuing bank because they have been the victim of credit card fraud. This is why most merchants are becoming more vigilant then ever when it comes to verifying credit card numbers.

It can happen to anyone. Your phone rings and you are confronted with a collection agency demanding that you pay past due accounts for services or products you never bought. What happened?

Identity theft struck 8.9 million victims in 2006. According to Javelin Strategy and Research 8.9 million people were victims of identity theft in 2006, totaling $56.6 billion in loss.

Identity thieves steal ATM cards, driver licenses, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other items with personal identity information. These criminals then use the information to impersonate their victims. The common idea is to spend as much money as quickly as possible and then find another victim.

Imagine for a moment, what it would be like to receive the news that someone has committed identity theft, in your name. For example, you go to your local bank, an establishment that your family has used for years, to apply for a home or auto loan. Everything seems to be going well, when the loan officer comes back with papers stating that you owe some outstanding bills, some very hefty outstanding bills.

You’ve heard about the vicious crime that is identity theft. And, you’ve wondered if it’ll ever happen to you.

Then suddenly, your bank balance is disappearing faster than you’ve been spending it. You’ve also got a mortgage and a new car, and you can’t even fathom how you’ve got all of these. You credit card has also been billed for merchandise you didn’t purchase.

You start to wonder…..

Yes, if you’re experiencing any of the above-mentioned incidents, you’ve probably fallen victim to an identity theft attack.

The million-dollar question though is ‘What can I do to get back my identity?’

There are many scams on the Internet, we know this already – we have all received spam emails in our inboxes and we delete them without further thought. What happens though when ‘spam’ is undetectable? What if you get an email from your bank or online bank that looks real and is asking for your information to be input on a website? Looks legitimate so you go ahead and do it – after all, they said your account would expire if you did not. Is that a scam or an attempt at identity fraud? Yes, it is.

CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS

So what happens if a criminal uses your name and information when he or she gets arrested. There are procedures to correct your record within the criminal justice databases. These procedures can vary from state to state and even from county to county. Some states have enacted laws with special procedures for identity theft victims to follow to clear their names. You should check with the office of your state Attorney General , but you can use the following information as a general guide.