Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America! Over 12.7 percent of Americans reported they were victims of Identity Theft in the last five years! The misuse of existing credit card accounts has increased to over 71 percent in the last two years. Over all, Identity Theft has increased over 41 percent in the same period. Identity Theft is a massive crime and it is virtually without risk. Unbelievably, only 25 percent of Identity Theft victims report this crime to the police. In 2002, estimated financial losses to American businesses were over $33 billion dollars. The average victim lost over $10,200.00, and that does not begin to include the cost needed to recover from the abuse. On average a victim needed over 30 hours to recover from the theft. Significantly, the sooner the theft was discovered, the less the monetary damage and the quicker the recovery. Overall, the amount of time needed for resolution increased as the length of time required for discovery increased. Seventy-six percent of the victims who discovered the theft within one month took less than 10 hours to resolve the issue. When the theft was discovered between one and five months only 59 percent were able to resolve the problem within ten hours. For those that discovered the theft more than six months after the event, less than 20 percent were able to reach a resolution in less than 10 hours. Clearly, time is a critical component in protecting yourself and recovering from Identity Theft. Quick discovery can help reduce the amount of monetary damage AND the number of problems you may encounter when attempting to clean up the resulting mess! Identity theft is more like a family of crimes. It takes several different forms. New Account Fraud - The most common form of Identity Theft is when the criminal obtains your personal information and uses it to obtain credit in your name. Existing Account Fraud - The second category concerns misuse of existing accounts. Again, the same documentation needed to open new accounts can be used to access the victims current accounts Child Identity Fraud - In this instance, a thief steals the identity of a child. Here is the catch with this one. You or your child may not know about the theft until they grow up and get out on their own! The thief can have almost twenty years to destroy the childs name. Luckily, this is easy to clean up. Not even your credit company is going to believe a three year old applied for a loan to buy a car! Deceased Persons Fraud - This one can be almost as insidious as Child Identity Theft. Why, because who is going to complain! Here the thief steals the identity of a recently deceased person. With no one to complain, how long it can go on. Work Place Identity Theft - Here things get a little tricky. This type of identity theft can happen whether or not you know the assailant. In its simplest form, someone at your work steals your personal information and then your identity. That is bad enough, but what about someone stealing the information you entrust with a company? Immigration Fraud - Identity Theft is a problem on the immigration front also. Illegal aliens often attempt to use stolen or falsified documentation to enter the country. Your documentation can be used to establish the illegal immigrants right to work, in the United States. Criminal Record Fraud - The last type of Identity Theft is perhaps the most damaging! In this instance, the thief uses your information to leave you with a criminal record! Imagine being pulled over for a speeding ticket only to find out you had several warrants out for your arrest! How do you prevent Identity Theft? You prevent it by being proactive! Check your credit reports at least yearly! Check Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Equifax: (800) 525-6285
Experian: (800) 301-7195
Trans Union: (800) 680-7289 Be careful of how you dispose of your old mail. Utility bills Phone bills, school papers and many other items can give an identity thief all the ammunition needed to steal your life. Pay attention to mail that you receive or do not receive, if you suddenly stop getting your credit card bill call the company and find out why. Your mailing address may have been changed without you knowing about it. Identity theft can ruin your life if left undiscovered. Counter this by actively monitoring your credit and other accounts. Like other criminals, these thieves look for victims. People who proactively look after themselves and their families are seldom mistaken for victims. Before you do anything else, call all three of the numbers listed above and order a copy of your credit report. Do it, right now! |
