Prevent Identity Theft - start defending yourself before you are attacked
By Simon Chobod
___________________________________________________
If your worst fear was that burglars would break into your house, think again.
A new crime, which is much worse, is rampant out there in the Cyberspace.
This crime is called Identity Theft. Some law enforcement officials call it the crime of the new millennium.
In this crime a perpetrator assumes your identity and starts using your credit,
taking loans in your name, emptying your financial assets, and ruining your good name.
With the proliferation of easy access to information on Internet, this crime had been growing lately to alarming proportions.
Its perpetrators discovered it as an "easy" way to make money.
In the process they have destroyed businesses and caused huge damages (emotional as well as financial) to many families.
Burglars may violate your home, your personal sanctuary, but at least you can see what they have done to you.
And once they are gone, you are relatively safe, you can assess the damages.
The Identity Theft is directed against you personally, yet you can't see its perpetrators.
You can't know what they are up to, and the damages that they have done can mount up for years after they are apprehended.
The Identity Theft damages don't stop at a financial level. Someone might have committed crimes using you name,
and the Law Enforcement is after you now. There are might be even outstanding police warrants on your arrest.
It takes time to clear them. In the meantime you must live like a fugitive.
A thief might had taken loans using your name, and a Collection Agency is hired to collect the money from you.
Believe me, you don't want to deal with Collection Agents. Those people are paid to give you trouble.
They don't care that you are also a victim. Their job is to collect money, and they will tell you
that they are not there to install justice.
What can you do? The best way of preventing Identity Theft is to start building up defenses before your identity is attacked.
The advices for you on that subject are dime a dozen all over the Internet:
"Don't disclose your Id with your Credit Card. Don't list your Social Security number.
Don't give away any personal information."
Those are good advices, but slightly impractical. If you don't show your Id while purchasing with your credit card,
the shop owner will rightfully assume that the card is stolen and will refuse the credit. He might even call the police.
Your Social Security number is open to prying eyes in every database - from the medical records in your hospital
to every employment application you had ever completed. Most employers and insurance companies still use
Social Security Numbers for identification purposes.
And how would you go about not giving away any of your personal information?
Like your date of birth, for example? If your kids are asked some innocent sounding questions about you,
would they not tell? How about your neighbors? Your co-workers?
Don't always assume that you had been attacked by villains from far away.
It can be someone that you know, and what is more important, someone that knows a lot of personal information about you.
It can be a disgruntled employee, vengeful ex-husband or wife, or even some psychotic neighbor.
No, if you want to build a solid wall of defenses, you will need a better strategy.
You will be surprised how effective simple solutions may be,
but in this case an ounce of prevention beforehand will be worth a pound of cure later.
Continue to: Three effective steps you can take to protect yourself from Identity Theft.
|
