Identity Theft Overview – Are you a Victim?

Definition: “When someone else gains access to your personal information and uses it without permission”. Someone’s identity is stolen every 2 seconds in the US. It is not a matter of if you will be compromised; it is a matter of when. This blog is a brief overview of the topic of identity theft.

What are they after?

They want three things about you: your SSN, your driver’s license and your DOB. With these, they can make a mess of your life.

How do they do it?

These are their core techniques: phishing, dumpster diving, scams and data breaches.

Scams

Scams usually originate from phone calls, test messages, email and postal mail.

Why now?

Most of the crime is made possible by the digital age!

Types – “Knowledge is Power”

A little about each type of identity theft

Criminal

Crimes are committed using your information
Requires an attorney or attorneys to clear up your name

Financial

• Banks & credit card companies
• The easiest to clean up
• About 19% of total

Medical

• Prescription drugs in your name
• Medical treatment in your name
• Affected over 1.84 million victims and having a total out-of-pocket cost of $12.3 billion (most expensive form)
• Can be dangerous

Governmental

• Tax return fraud
• Benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare, disability, etc.
• About 47% of total

What can you do about it?

• Secure your data
• Pay attention to financial statements
• Invest in ID Theft protection

For more information

I will elaborate on this topic in future blogs. You can contact me at 408-309-3557 if you want more information now.

Take a look at http://www.legalshieldassociate.com/idt/trholthus to view my preferred identity theft protection program.

Thomas Holthus
Business Mentor