Methods Used to Steal a Person’s Identity

Methods Used to Steal a Person’s Identity

There are many methods, mechanism and tools that are used to steal a person’s identity. For instance a lost or stolen wallet, a person who has had their wallet lost or stolen is at great risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. Carrying important documents like your Social Security Number, birth certificate, driver’s license and credit or debit cards in your wallet can give a thief easy access to your personal information. Another common way is through the garbage, throwing credit card offers in the garbage, clearing out old tax forms or other personal information is a common mistake may people make. Rummaging through the garbage for such information is known as “dumpster diving” and can be an easy source for identity thieves. Other methods are through, missing mail, phishing or pretexting, through employees or businesses that have legitimate access to your personal information may use that information for non-business activities, skimming, spyware, unsecured online transactions, break ins, personal computers, just to name a few but there are a variety of other ways thieves may use to steal one’s identity.

Consequences and Repercussions of Identity Theft

Once identity thieves have your personal information, they can use it in a variety of ways. They may take out a loan or establish a new phone service in your name. They may also apply for a credit card and then call your credit card issuer to change the postal address on your credit card account, and as a result destroy your credit score or rating. The impostor could then run up charges on your account but because your statements are being sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there's a problem. They may also use your personal documents to get other identification documents such as a driver's licenses with their picture. They can then use these documents to perpetrate further theft.

Recovering from Identity Theft

One key to recovering from identity theft quickly is to act quickly. Reporting the theft to the right agencies is essential. After you file identity theft complaints with the FTC and your local law enforcement agencies, you can begin monitoring your credit report and managing any financial damages that have been done. Since most identity theft is actually discovered because of the financial damage that's done, this is a very important step in your recovery. Lastly, a mistake that identity theft victims make is assuming that once they've cleaned up the damage done by identity theft,