Information about protecting yourself from identity theft.

Identity Theft - On the Rise?

Identity theft is on the rise because it is an extremely easy to plan and play out.

Identity Theft is one of the fastest growing crimes across the United States. Identity theft is a crime where someone gets important pieces of information about another person, such as a Social Security number and a driver's license number, in order to get credit, services, or merchandise in the first person's name. Victims of identity theft are often left with a ruined credit history and debt. It is estimated that there are 500,000 - 700,000 new victims of identity theft a year, and that over $11 billion dollars is lost.

Identity theft is on the rise because it is an extremely easy to plan and play out. All a thief has to do is obtain a few key pieces of information about the victim. This can be accomplished in many ways. Thieves will rummage through garbage and steal mail from a mailbox in order to obtain vital information about the potential identity theft victim. They have even established methods of tricking the victim into giving the information themselves. They will also search the internet. It is not difficult for the thief to obtain a few important facts about the person they wish to victimize, which contributes greatly to the rise in identity theft.

Identity thieves will go actually steal a victim's garage on trash day, or dig in their dumpster to obtain the information they need to commit the identity theft. They will search for items that might have your credit card information on it, or anything that might contain your social security number or account numbers. If they find what they are looking for, the identity theft is certain.

It is important to take some steps to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft is on the rise mainly because of how easily thieves can obtain vital information about their victims.

Shredding bill statements, banks statements, and all like mail before discarding it in the garbage will help prevent someone from stealing the information directly from your trash can. Be leery of telephone solicitors, or anyone asking for a donation over the phone. If possible, send all outgoing mail through the post office or a public mailbox, and run your virus scan regularly. Doing all these things will help prevent becoming a victim of identity theft, and will also help decrease the constant rise of this crime.

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