subject: Easy Identity Theft [print this page] Shopping with toddlers can be a nerve racking experience. After one such expedition, I received a phone call from the last store visited. They had found my purse in a shopping cart, but were sorry to report there was no wallet in it, just a diaper and some other things.
I told them I'd found my wallet in the bag with my purchases, so all I was missing was the purse. My story had a happy ending and didn't require credit restoration. My teenage daughter wasn't so lucky when she lost her wallet while trying on clothes in a store's dressing room; she never saw it again. Losing a purse or wallet is one of the easiest ways for someone to steal your identity.
It seems like our mail is always full of requests to open new credit cards. These are easily thrown into the trash, usually unopened. If that same trash contained discarded bank statements, it would be simple for someone digging through it to fill out the credit card request using our bank information. This kind of information could cause damage that would need serious credit restoration.
A co-worker received a phone call, supposedly from her bank, telling her they had found her debit card. They wanted verification from her, and by the time the call ended, they had enough information to access her bank accounts, which they did. After this experience she needed some credit restoration.
Occasionally I have received suspicious emails. One said I'd won the bid on a watch which they would send to me as soon as I made payment. Since I'd never bid on a watch, I contacted the company the email was supposed to have come from.
I found out that if I would have followed the link embedded in the fraudulent web-page, it would have taken me to a disreputable site where they would have gained access to my account information. I was fortunate that my actions didn't require credit restoration. I learned that you should always check the web address to see if you are really on the site you want to be on before giving out any information.
Another suspicious email, supposedly from a well known bank, requested personal information in order to verify my account information. I knew right off that this email was a fraud. I didn't even have an account with that bank!
Identity protection is very important. Identity theft is the most common crime in America. By taking steps to protect ourselves now, we can avoid credit restoration later.
