What To Do If You Become The Victim Of Identity Theft?

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States of American

and the basic reason for this is that it is easy and does not require someone break through the doors to walk off with goods. They can actually get them even out of your trash box.

However according to the American postal service, one major reason is carelessness of people on how they handle their sensitive documents. In this case one of the best investments you can make for your office and home is a quality paper shredder.

What you should know about identity theft

There are some people who entire live by looking out for a copy of someone's un-trashed tax return of any documents, credit card bills and bank statements that have sensitive account numbers. Therefore it is time you educate yourself about the dangers of identity theft and provide yourself with some great facts and solutions. If you have ever found someone who has their identity stolen then you know what they are probably going through.

The statistics

During the last year there were nearly 9 million Americans who were victims of identity theft and around five billion dollar in the crime wave being reported. Furthermore, the number of identity theft victims ad the losses they have faced are probably much higher then you can imagine. It is quite hard to point out, as the law enforcement organizations might categorize id theft differently. This can also include internet fraud, credit card fraud or mail theft including other crimes.

This can also include your credit report because when it is ordered, unless you personally request there would only be four digits listed while the remaining number can easily be stolen without proper care. You should know that the credit report includes a number of social security numbers on all the pages.

The federal trade commission reports that just four percent of victims cited had stolen mails with an attempt to steal personal information. Additionally the postal inspector of US was charged with protecting the mail system of the nation from criminal misuse which are actually leaders in the nation's fight against id theft.

What to do if you are victim

If you happen to be a victim of identity theft there are 4 steps that you should take immediately to keep a record with clear details of your copies and conversations of all the correspondence. You should immediately place a fraud alert over your credit reports and review credit reports.

These fraud alerts help prevent the identity theft from gaining access to most of your accounts. The other best way is to let identity theft protection services protect your personal and professional data from being stolen. These services can prove to be beneficial as almost every individual in the United States has locked down their sensitive data with the help of these services.

Beware that, identity theft in USA is still growing with several reported cases appearing almost everyday and so take steps immediately to secure your date and prevent huge financial losses.

by: John Goldman

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