Identity Theft: What is Identity Theft and How to Protect Yourself
And For the perpetrators, it offers the highest profit margin with the least risk. It is not easy to catch these modern-day criminals, and even when they do get caught, the penalties are often light. The victims are left to suffer and clean up the mess, which often takes many years. How to Protect YourselfThere are all types of advice out there on how to protect yourself from ID theft. Most of that information (shredding your documents, for instance) is well-meaning and good. But today's thief if much more sophisticated. You can make yourself virtually identity theft proof by placing a fraud alert on your credit report with all the three major credit bureaus. This 1) stops the credit bureaus from selling your information and 2) stops creditors from approving new credit applications without first calling you at the number listed on your credit report. You can also enlist the service of an Identity Protection service. One advantage of using such a service is that you get insured. If your identity still gets stolen (which can still happen even with fraud alert), a reputable ID theft service will compensate you for your loss. Another advantage of using a service is that fraud alerts are only good for three months, after which you have to renew. Credit bureaus make money from selling your information and are, naturally, not keen on this. You could also forget to renew. An identity theft prevention service will make sure that this is done. Related Readings: Lifelock Identity Theft
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Identity theft is now rated as the fastest
growing criminal activity of modern times, replacing
illegal drug sales. The reason is simple: it pays.