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Have you ever asked: How is identity theft accomplished?
So how is identity theft accomplished? Do you think identity theft is always committed by some stranger out there? Would it surprise you to learn that it is often committed by those close to you? Believe it or not, identity theft can be accomplished by those you know, trust and love. Here's a quick list of people you interact with on a daily basis that will answer the question, "How is identity theft accomplished?": Your neighbors: Unfortunately the days when you used to know all your neighbors by name are gone. People can live right next door to you for months or years and you will never even know their first name. And how many news stories have you heard where the neighbors were shocked to learn of some crime committed by that friendly looking guy next door. The truth is you don't always know who your neighbors are or what they are doing. One story out of Texas reported that an international identity theft ring was being run right next door to the chief of police! So the answer to 'how is identity theft accomplished' is the Jones, or the Smiths or the nameless person innocently taking out their trash Sunday morning. Yet they could be doing more than dumping their trash, they could be rummaging through yours (often called 'dumpster diving') looking for your discarded personal and financial information as part of their own identity theft ring. How likely is it? Probably not very, but just to be safe, run all those documents through your cross-cut shredder before tossing out. Your landlord, property manager or maintenance workers: Although not generally the first person to come to mind when asked how is identity theft accomplished, think about it...Who do you give open access to without even questioning it? Who has a key to your front door? Who is the last person you'd suspect if some of your documents came up missing? If you are a renter, by law, you are supposed to be given notice if the property manager or owner need to access your premises. But in emergency situations, that may not be possible. Or perhaps the plumbing needs fixing and you can't be home to supervise. What do you do? The best course of action is keep your mail, personal documents and financial statements out of the casual glance of those entering your home. Your roommates: Increasingly, the answer to "how is identity theft accomplished?" lies in the hands of those you share your living quarters with. Roommates often have unprecedented access to the details of your life. They know when you are away at work or at school - giving them plenty of time to rifle through your mail, your files, or anything else. They are also in the best position to impersonate you over the phone to gather account information, user ID's and passwords - all of which fall under the newest identity theft crime called 'pretexting'. Armed with what they know about you, they can even impersonate you in person and do things such as going down to the post office and completing a 'change of address' form to have your mail diverted to another location. While alerting you to these possible dangers is not intended to make you paranoid, you should at least be aware that the possibilities exist. Your relatives: When you ask "how is identity theft accomplished?", it's not usually grandma that comes to mind (though it has been known to happen), rather it is more likely grandma's grandchildren. These adult grandkids are usually young with no credit history and little in the way of purchasing power and even less in the way of respecting their elders. The elderly are notoriously at risk for being subjected to fraud and identity theft. They are usually trusting or just plain naive about matters relating to protecting their financial records. Interestingly, one's spouse is also a source of identity theft. Who else has such open access to your personal and financial information? The offending spouse may not be a criminal ring leader, but they may have drug or gambling problems that drive them to seek out more funds wherever they can. It happens. I've saved the worst for last. The question, "how is identity theft accomplished?" is, unbelievably, often answered this way: there is a huge increase in identity theft of minors by their own parents! Parents (and even aunts, uncles and cousins) who have ruined their own credit scores are now turning to their children's clean social security number and credit report to establish new accounts. The goal here is not to give their children a long and responsible credit history, no, the goal is to rack up charges then skip out on the bill - ruining their own children's financial future. Your Solutions: OK, so now you have a good answer for "how is identity theft accomplished?" and you've done your best to keep your personal and financial documents out of site, hidden or even under lock and key - now, besides hiring someone to stand guard outside your front door, what else can you do to give yourself some peace of mind and assure yourself that your personal information hasn't been compromised? It would benefit you greatly and, at the same time, give you that much needed peace of mind to monitor your credit report on a regular basis - and by regular I mean daily - not just quarterly or yearly. It doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming. You just sign up for a credit monitoring service one time, and set it up to where you get email alerts letting you know immediately if there is any funny stuff going on with your credit report. To get you started, I've listed a few reputable companies that offer this service: Each come with identity theft insurance coverage. I think both services complement each other and are invaluable assets to have in your protection storehouse. Another option is
Identity Theft Shield
which is offered by Pre-Paid Legal Services and combines the monitoring of your Experian credit report along with your credit score and score analysis. Their plan includes extensive insurance protection and name restoration services. Knowing the answer to "how is identity theft accomplished?" and combining that answer with being proactive by utilizing monitoring services is the cornerstone of protecting yourself against identity theft. Leave HOW IS IDENTITY THEFT ACCOMPLISHED and go to HOME page
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