subject: How To Protect Against Identity Theft [print this page] How To Protect Against Identity Theft How To Protect Against Identity Theft
Identity theft occurs when an individual fraudulently uses another person's information. The number of incidences of identity theft continues to rise each year. You can learn how to protect against identity theft by understanding what information identity thieves need and vigilantly protecting your personal and financial information. Criminals need information to use your identity. The most commonly used information in identity theft crimes include social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account and other financial account numbers, and personal information, such as your full name, address, age, driver's license number. With some of this information, identity thieves can do damage to your credit, but if they get it all, the situation gets potentially much more serious. There are many ways to acquire your personal information. Most of this can be obtained easily by stealing a purse or wallet. Stealing mail is another method that is used to get credit card, bank and other financial information. Learning how to protect against identity theft is easiest with this type of crime. Taking steps to secure your personal information, including your mail, helps to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. Physically protecting your information is a good start, but there are electronic threats to consider. If you use online banking, purchase things online with credit cards or order items by telephone, you can be at risk of identity theft. Criminals have a variety of ways to steal your information and even get you to give it to them. Spyware and viruses can be used to obtain the private information of a number of people. Other methods, such as setting up bogus online stores or using techniques such as phishing to get individuals to divulge private information allows the identity thief to obtain all the information needed to steal the victim's identity. Often, unscrupulous individuals pose as banks, financial institutions, credit card companies and other organizations to get credit card and private financial information. This can be done by people posing as telemarketers calling your home or using phishing emails that prompt account holders to divulge their private information. Working to protect your personal and financial information can help prevent identity theft, but it is impossible to stop it entirely. Security breeches are occasionally reported on the news and this puts an individual's information at risk of being compromised despite the best efforts at prevention. After prevention, early detection of identity theft is the best way to protect against the potentially devastating financial consequences of identity theft. Using identity theft protection services gives you the peace of mind that comes from knowing your personal information is being continually monitored to quickly detect threats or incidents of identity theft. Early detection is essential to prevent extreme financial problems that can result from identity thieves opening new accounts, taking loans and running up existing credit card accounts. Identity Edge offers a comprehensive system of proven methods for preventing, detecting and resolving identity theft issues. If a problem does occur, we can help you stop it and take steps to restore your identity.
