How To Protect Your Identity: Identity Theft Defined
There are many things or personal possessions that can be owned. Sometimes these items have been purchased, received as gifts or passed down from generation to generation.
They may have a monetary value or they could be more sentimental. Things like pictures or other heirlooms are hard to put a price on, but they can be invaluable to people who know their history.
And what’s the problem with owning things? They can be stolen. Or damaged by fire, flood or earthquake.
One other item that can be stolen from individuals is something extremely personal. That item is a person’s identity. To increase the general awareness of identity theft it is important to define identity theft. In order to define identity theft it is imperative to know how society defines identity theft and how it can occur.
Definition Of Identity Theft
Identity theft is when one person pretends to be someone else, most often for the purpose of committing some type of fraud. This could mean accessing your banks accounts or even committing crimes in your name.
One of the most common impacts of identity theft is financial loss of some sort. Identity theft can affect your finances and credit rating when the thieves are able to access your bank accounts, credit cards and other private information.
In addition, if not addressed quickly, an identity theft victim will have to deal with damage perpetuated on their good name. Often this damage is reflected in credit ratings, possible criminal activity, employment interviews, etc. Although the victim is innocent, often it takes months or even years for the devastating effects of the identity theft to be cleared.
How Identity Theft Occurs
Identity theft usually happens when someone obtains critical pieces of information about you.
This can include identification numbers, such as your social insurance number and driver’s license number - things that only their owner should know. Other potentially dangerous pieces of information are your passwords, account PINs, date of birth or even your mother’s maiden name.
These numbers can be obtained fraudulently by thieves who pose as representatives of service or financial companies in order to obtain these highly sensitive numbers. It is important for the reader to understand that under no circumstances should they give out these sensitive numbers to individuals who ask for them.
If a company has a legitimate need for this information, they normally only ask for it if you have called them. They shouldn’t call you and then ask for it, since you have no way of confirming they are who they say.
Your trash is another source of this information for identity thieves. Don’t ever throw out papers with personal information on it - make sure you shred it thoroughly first.