It’s the number one source of consumer complaints at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and unfortunately, it’s one of the simplest crimes to commit. Identity theft involves information from your daily life, from shopping, bill-paying, and even applying for a job. Thieves take advantage of everyday opportunities to discover your personal information, including your Social Security number (SSN), bank or credit card account numbers, income, name, address, or phone number, and use it to commit fraud or other crimes.

How can a stranger get to your information? According to the FTC, identity thieves may pose as legitimate representatives of an organization, as business professionals or agents of the government, conning you into revealing sensitive information. Common scams include impersonating employees from banks, credit card companies, Internet service providers, and utility companies. If someone calls you claiming to represent a legitimate organization, confirm this by calling the customer service number listed on your statement or bill.

Thieves may also use your place of employment to get the information they need. A co-worker may steal information from your employer; someone could hack into your company’s computer and copy employee records; or a criminal could resort to the old-fashioned method of bribing someone you work with for your information. Check with your employer to find out the company policy on securing your records and disposing of them when you’re gone.

If your employer is authorized to pull credit reports on employees or potential customers, someone could take advantage of this access to retrieve illegal reports. Criminals may also pose as employers, landlords, or collection agents to pull your credit information. It’s a good idea to order a copy of your credit report once a year to check for unauthorized entries.

Shredding your documents before you throw them away is also good idea, whether at work or at home. Identity thieves have been known to sift through garbage, in the trash can or at the dump, to find sensitive information.

The most common form of identity theft is credit card fraud. Technology has allowed criminals to begin stealing your credit or debit card numbers as you use the cards, “skimming” them with an information storage device. In addition, thousands of drivers’ licenses and credit and debit cards are stolen each year. Keeping your Social Security card in a secure location and safeguarding your purse or wallet while at work are necessary precautions.

Even your mail is a source for identity thieves, who may complete credit card applications in your name and go on a spending spree. After stealing your bank or credit card statements, tax information, or box of replacement checks, criminals are able to access your accounts and spend the funds in your name. They may even change the address on your existing account, diverting the bills to keep you from recognizing the problem until it’s too late. Being aware of your billing cycles can help you catch a discrepancy in the arrival of your statements.

Identity thieves have a variety of ways to use your information for their personal gain. They may shop for big-ticket items using your credit or bank account information and then sell the items for cash. With your SSN and date of birth, they can open new bank accounts or apply for lines of credit. In fact, banks have granted loans to criminals using stolen identities for purchases as large as cars.

Telephone or internet service can be set up using your SSN. Thieves can avoid impending eviction or accumulated debt by filing bankruptcy in your name. Perhaps the most emotionally traumatic, police could issue a warrant for you if a criminal was arrested using your name and failed to appear at a court hearing.

The ways that identity thieves have conceived to acquire your personal information are numerous, but your vigilance and heightened awareness can curb their ability to make you a victim.

Identity Theft – What Are the Most Common Ways to Commit ID Theft …

With the rising number of people experiencing id theft, protective and monitoring mechanisms have been built to assist people in effectively and efficiently preventing any incidences of identity theft. Identity theft monitoring can greatly prevent internet fraud which can significantly help you protect your personal details and information whenever you transact online.

A user’s personal details and information is compromised whenever identity theft is evident. As a matter of fact, identity fraud typically includes using another person’s personal information to commit frauds, make purchases and even commit crimes.

To minimize the potential damage that id thefts can pose, here are some useful guidelines:

1. Part of the identity fraud monitoring process is blocking disclosed credit card numbers

2. To closely monitor id theft, monitoring of credit reports are also necessary

3. To prevent the thief from further causing any damage, you need to contact different government agencies concerned with identity theft.

Since most identity theft goes unnoticed by a lot of people unless they’ve been called by collection agencies or their credit card companies, there are some symptoms of identity fraud:

1. Your bills arrive late or are missing.

2. Receiving unknown credit card bills.

3. Getting a call or letter from debt collectors or receiving bills for purchases that you never made.

It is therefore important that necessary steps should be undertaken to minimize, if not totally prevent, identity theft. These steps are better known as theft monitoring mechanisms.

As the name suggests, id theft monitoring involves steps and mechanisms that hopes to guarantee that theft of identity will never occur again in the future. There are different steps that can be undertaken to prevent id theft like securing an individual’s social security number, credit card numbers, and other personal details and information. These preventive mechanisms can significantly help prevent fraud and other identity fraud crimes.

With identity theft monitoring mechanism, a meticulous verification of your personal accounts are required starting from your credit card accounts. Anything close to an id theft should warrant the closing of a particular credit account as soon a possible. Getting in touch with concerned financial institutions and banks is also another way to prevent id theft. Constantly changing your passwords for your credit cards and ATMs are also best practices in terms of preventing identity theft.

The social security number is also another personal detail that should always be left out of the public eye. This can also be used by different individuals in their pursuit to steal identities and use it for their own advantage. If your identity is stolen via social security number, it is important that you contact any three nationwide consumer reporting companies so that they can help you in resolving your issue. Initial fraud alerts are primary steps in the identity theft monitoring process and this can also prevent the identity thief from opening any credit account by using another duplicate name. The fraud alerts are posted on credit card reports for 90 days.

Of course, it is important that the file be flagged for fraud as part of the identity theft monitoring process. This will prevent anyone else from eventual duplicating any license or any authorized documents. An individual must also constantly and regularly read and monitor credit card reports and financial statements so that any discrepancy will not go unnoticed and if there are, can be acted upon immediately.

Identity Theft Monitoring