Identity fraud has been a constant threat in the past decade, especially with the advent of Internet technology. The scary truth is that it can happen to just about anyone, at anytime, anywhere. In fact, even if you say you don’t often use your credit card anyway, it still does not guarantee that you will be safe from identity thieves. After all, even children who can’t spell yet can already have their identities stolen through their Social Security numbers. In short, there really is no way to absolutely guard yourself from this crime.
To not do anything to pre-empt it, however, is only to increase your propensity for falling prey into the hands of these identity thieves. Prevention is always better than cure, so they say, and in this case, it still stands true.
What most people don’t realize about identity theft is that it is fairly easy to detect. By taking on measures that would immediately alert you of any suspicious activity with your financial account, you can already nip the problem right at the bud. What is difficult is the mess that you will have to clean up afterwards. That is why it becomes even more urgent that you pay close attention to your accounts on a regular basis, regardless of how often you transact via online, or by using your credit card.
There are a lot of things to be worried about when it comes to identity theft, and in this article, we present five terrifying identity theft facts that most people may not bother to think about. It may not seem like a lot, but if it’s your identity’s security on the line, it’s still one too many.
1. Identity theft victims usually don’t know they are victims
Here’s the thing, most crimes committed against a person are tangible. It can be physical or verbal abuse, losing a physical item, getting damage on property, and so on and so forth. The unique thing about identity theft, however, is that while the damage hits the person directly, it is generally discreet and intangible. In fact, the only time that a person will realize that their financial identity has been stolen from them is when they start receiving credit card bills containing purchases they never made. Until then, however, it largely remains to be unnoticed.
As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted in their study last year, there are about 10 million Americans who became identity theft victims. Of this number, about half do not even know how their identities were stolen. This is alarming because it shows just how clueless people really are about their financial activities. Awareness is present only until the transaction, but as soon as the purchase is made, most people don’t bother following up on their credit status anymore. It is this negligence that identity thieves usually prey upon, thus making consumers — especially heavy credit card users — an easy target.
2. Identifying the theft is not the problem, it’s fixing it that is
One of the misconceptions is that should a person become a victim of identity theft fraud, it only takes one report from them in order to clear them of all the unjustified charges made on their cards. That is wrong.
If you think about it, credit reports are updated at least every three months. Ideally, that is how often you should check up on your own credit standing. If you don’t, however, you can accumulate up to as much as a year’s worth of fraudulent charges made to your account. If you don’t bother to check your credit reports at all, then you can just imagine how much damage you would have incurred by then.
In 2010, statistics showed that the average number of hours that it took in order to resolve an identity theft case was 33 hours. That may not seem much, but that’s the ideal average. The truth is it can take you up to several weeks, months, and for some, even years, before you can fully erase the damage brought about by identity theft. In the meantime, you can be sure to have a much more difficult time opening up a new account, applying for a loan, or even just arranging your financial accounts.
3. A New Kind of Fraud is a New Account
It used to be bad enough that people’s credit card accounts can be used by fraudsters to steal from them. However, as the FBI pointed out, there is a new kind of fraud on the loose, and it entails the fraudsters opening up new accounts under your name.
Certainly, this is a much bolder and brazen move than before. Without you knowing it, you can be racking up charges on credit cards you have no knowledge of, or worse, you could be accumulating interest charges on loans you never made.
4. Your email address is a potent tool for identity theft
Yes, even something as supposedly benign as your email address can already prove to be very useful for the thieves. Because they are mostly knowledgeable hackers, by using that simple information, they can make their way into the database and harvest other details about you, such as your birthday, address, credit card numbers, or even your Social Security number. The best way to protect yourself then: make sure you go only to protected and secure sites at all times.
5. Identity thieves are smart
Out of all the identity theft facts presented here, this has got to be the most terrifying of them all. It’s one thing to have to deal with a dumb thief, but if they’re smart, then you know you’ve got a problem. They know the ins and outs of the virtual world, obviously much better than you. Because of this, they will always be one step ahead of you. Even protective agencies are having a hard time keeping up.
Again, while these are terrifying, and while you may tend to feel helpless, it does not mean that you should just curl up in a corner and not do anything about it. There are preventive measures you can take, use them to your advantage.
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