Archive | ID Theft
Identity theft is a crime that doesn’t solely target adults.
I’ve written before how teenagers on social networking sites can fall prey to id theft but it doesn’t stop there either.
Children of all ages need protecting now, even newborn babies.
As with all types of identity theft, the orchestrator of such a crime is often known to the victim.
GOOD FRIENDS OFTEN WANT TO BE JUST LIKE YOU
Disturbingly, identity thieves often turn out to be friends or family members.
That said, some criminals do specifically target any children that they can find because it is likely that their crime will go undetected for longer than if an adult had been selected.
How many of you check your child’s credit reports?
Not many I would imagine, and that’s why they are so enticing to identity thieves.
In many cases, babies and young children may not find out that they have been a victim until many years later when they try to open their first bank account, or apply for a college loan and are turned down.
In extreme cases it has even been known for children to catch the attention of law enforcement for crimes that others have committed in their names.
With that in mind, here are some ideas for how you can minimise the risk of your child’s identity being stolen -
6 SIMPLE TIPS FOR AVOIDING UNDER-AGE IDENTITY THEFT
1. Teach your children the value of privacy. Many adults fail to keep their personal data private. Teach your children from a young age that they need to keep some things to themselves, i.e. passwords, Social Security numbers, PIN numbers, bank account details, etc.
2. Leave their Social Security cards somewhere safe at home. This tip is universal and applies to everyone, regardless of their age.
3. Be wary of who you give your child’s Social Security Number or copy of their birth certificate to. Obviously there are times and places for giving out such information, such as when you apply for a bank account for your child, or when you register them at a school. On other occasions you should consider whether divulging such information is absolutely necessary. Also check the privacy policy of anyone you give those details to, in order to have a clear idea of what they do with your child’s data and how they store it..
4. Encourage your children to use strong passwords. Another common sense tip is to teach your children to use secure passwords. Passwords, such as their names should be discouraged for obvious reasons. Also, for older children who have PINs it would be wise to get them to change them to a number that isn’t easily guessed.
5. Read your child’s bank statements. Many parents will automatically discard their young childrens’ bank statements because they know there won’t be any transactions recorded on them. If your child has become an identity theft victim then that won’t be the case so it would be wise to have at least a cursory look.
6. Take advantage of a free credit report for your child. Under Federal law it is not only adults who are entitled to a free credit report each year. Children can have a free report from each of the three credit bureaus too and these should be checked in order to confirm that there has been no unexpected activity on them.
Identity theft victims often do not realise that they have fallen foul of this crime until quite some time after it has occurred.
This is largely to do with the delays between credit being given to the fraudster and statements being sent to the victim.
In some case, the identity thief may have even re-directed their victim’s mail in order to cause even longer delays, thus giving themselves more time to use credit cards, etc.
CREDIT REPORT
The singular most effective way of determining whether or not you have become a victim of identity theft is to request a credit report.
A credit report may not be able to prevent fraud, however, it can quickly identify if any such crime has taken place. Here in the UK, you can send £2 to Experian in return for a printed credit report.
In the US, you are permitted one free report per year from each of the credit reference agencies.
These credit reports give a detailed analysis of your financial commitments and payment history, including to whom you owe money, how much credit you have, how long you have had the finance and how long a period the money or other agreement is to last, etc.
CREDIT RATING
The credit report will also provide information such as defaults which would be a strong indicator if there is some credit not being repaid that you were unaware of.
In addition, a credit report will also record searches. This highlights the occasions where a company has assessed your credit rating prior to making a lending decision.
If your credit report shows debts or other entries you were completely unaware of then it is most likely that some sort of fraudulent activity is occurring, with identity theft being the most likely cause.
Good advice would be to check your credit report annually at the very least, more often if you have any reason to suspect that you may be at risk of identity theft.
RED FLAGS
Other red flags would be that you receive mail for purchases that you haven’t made.
Alternatively, a lack of mail could suggest that someone has hijacked your post and had it redirected.
Problems with gaining approval for credit, where none existed before, is also another tell tale sign that your identity may have been stolen.
There are several methods you can employ in order to overcome identity theft.
As you hopefully realise, prevention is far far better than cure where identity theft is concerned.
Here are 13 suggestions that may help you to lessen the risk of identity theft -
- Never carry more than one credit card with you at a time
- Always, always sign credit and other cards as soon as you receive them
- Keep your social security card safe at all times and never carry it with you
- Do not record your PIN number on your card or otherwise carry it upon your person
- Always shred anything that has your PIN or social security number on it
- Shred any and all documents which contain your credit card number
- Check receipts to ensure that you received your own and not someone else’s
- If you do not receive your credit card statement then contact the issuer in case someone else has acquired it
- Do not give personal information or account numbers to anyone unless you have verified their identity
- Obtain regular copies of your credit report from the three agencies.
- Never leave spare keys for your house or apartment outside of your property
- Use a safe in your home, or safety deposit box at your bank, for storing sensitive personal information
- Ensure your computer system is secure. This includes utilising encryption on your wi-fi link if applicable
The above may not offer total protection but getting the basics right will make you a harder target for identity theft than a great many other people.
A credit report contains information about you which is typically used by various lending agencies when they determination whether or not to allow you access to more credit.
The information within a credit report can also determine the total amount of credit that you may be allowed, in addition to the terms under which you will have to repay it.
If you view your credit report then you will see that it includes a range of personal information including employment information, and credit information.
There are 3 credit report agencies and each may carry slightly different information about you due to discrepancies in the way they collate and report their data.
Inside Your Credit Report
Your credit report contains information not only about you as a person but also as an employee and as a borrower.
This information on your credit report is gathered predominantly from your previous credit applications.
Personal information on a credit report includes -
- your full name
- mailing and residential addresses
- your social security number
- your date of birth
- employment history
- earnings
- current employer
More important than this though is the information about you as a borrower.
All your financial details are contained in your credit report, including negative aspects such as bankruptcy, foreclosures on homes, other repossessions and any court judgments you have received.
A credit report will also record your credit applications, whether followed through or not. Too many applications can have a negative impact upon your ability to apply for further lending.
Credit report agencies
There are three major credit report agencies -
- Experian
- Equifax
- TransUnion
Whenever a prospective lender receives an application for credit from you they will obtain your credit report from one of the above agencies.
Monitoring Of Your Credit Report
As I said earlier, your credit report plays a major role in determining whether or not you qualify for a credit card or loan.
Identity theft issues aside, it is important to regularly monitor your credit report, checking for errors or any unexpected information.
Everyone is entitled to receive one free credit report per year from each of the agencies in addition to additional free copies whenever you are denied credit of any sort.
Checking your credit report is an essential task for maintaining your ability to borrow what you need at the best rates and terms available.
Furthermore, regular checking of your credit report is a useful means of detecting identity theft at an early stage.
It seems like almost every day now that someone, or some company, has become the latest victim of identity theft.
That’s hardly surprising though, as identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of our time.
Easier Than You May Realise
You may think, with the advent of new technology, that identity theft is not possible.
Unfortunately, however, that is not the case as those behind this type of crime are well versed in the technology themselves.
A growing number of victims are testament to how identity theft is becoming pandemic in our society.
Identity theft crimes are happening every day, often committed by those closest to us, and are very much on the increase.
Once you understand how identity theft can occur, you will be far better equipped to ensure that you don’t become a statistic.
How Do Identity Thieves Operate?
Here are some of the ways in which identity thieves operate -
- They can steal your wallet or handbag which will often contain a huge amount of personal information.
- They may steal your mail which could include sensitive information, such as bank and credit card details. If you ever notice anyone rummaging through your garbage then you should report them immediately.
- They could actually break into your home and search for personal information.
- They can certainly steal information on the internet. Commonly, this would be via a technique known as ‘phishing‘ - an email from your bank, eBay or Paypal, for instance, will state that your account has been compromised and that you need to verify your information.
- They can obtain your credit report information by posing as your employer. This is easily done if the thief is aware of your place of employment.
- They can request a copy of your birth certificate. If they have enough relevant information then this form of identity theft can be particularly devastating.
Protect Yourself From Identity Theft
The above are just a few of the ways that criminals can steal your identity.
Always do all that you can to protect the security of your property, bank accounts and credit card information as best you can.
Also, return here, as there will be several more posts and tips about identity theft over the next couple of weeks.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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