What Is The Impact Of Identity Theft On Victims?

Identity theft is a very serious crime which involves a theft who uses personal information

, financial and credit information of an individual for almost any purpose. The FTC or federal trade commission has reported that nearly 8 million US citizens had become victims of identity theft during 2005 and this figure has increased by nearly 25 percent by the year 2007.

Therefore protecting your identity from theft is critical and the impacts of this crime can be devastating on your mental wellbeing and also your credit or financial status.

Emotional impact of id theft

Identity theft can sometimes have a huge impact on the emotional health of the victim and most of whom are unaware of where or how the criminals have availed their personal information. Most of the people find themselves feeling angry, vulnerable, stressed and depressed when they recover from id theft.

Fortunately, there are several identity theft support groups started all over the country to help these people recover from this disaster. These groups also help the victims deal with the emotional sides of theft and assist them in moving forward with their life.

Credit impact

Your credit score and repot would also be greatly affected if you are a identity theft victim. Although according to law you are protected from being financially accountable to the fraud committed under your identity, your credit would still be affected much before you can realize you are a victim.

In order to correct your credit information you should first contact the credit reporting companies and the businesses where a fraudulent account has been opened. You must also continue to check your credit reports almost every year to make sure that no fraud has occurred.

Driver's license

Most of the identity theft victims are so concerned about the consequences of id theft that they even forget that this criminal might also be using their driver's license and other types of identity. A number of id theft criminals completely assume the identity of the victim by availing their identification and driver's license with new information and picture on it.

In case this happens to you then you might find you have several criminal complaints and outstanding tickets that result from this fraud. However when your passport is stolen then it can be a lot difficult to rove your nationality.

Financing

Availing financial help for a new purchases can become a lot difficult after identity theft. However if you have followed the right procedure with credit reporting companies then a fraud alert would be placed on the reports.

This means that when you apply for new accounts, you will have to offer additional information to prove your identity. Although this is for your protection much of the amenities extended to you during the early days would no longer apply. These amenities include online access to credit decisions and quick credit approval.

Economical impact

Identity theft also has a dramatic impact on economy of a country. According to the FTC estimates businesses have lost above $50 billion because of this fraud while they have also spend more than $2 billion just to avoid the losses and resolve the consequences.

by: John Goldman

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