The Seven Faces of Identity Theft
There is a unseen cancer that is destroying the very fabric of our nation. During these tough economic times this menace is costing us untold billions with no and in sight. This cancer is spreading at a phenomonal rate and it 's effects can range from mildy irritating to wreaking total chaos in your life.
It can also affect your health from an allergic reaction to causing death and everything in between.
Now it's time to look this menace in the eye and confront it head on but first the threat must be identified.
Identity theft come in many forms and crosses all barriers ethnic,financial,gender none are immune.
1) Young Children
The most vunerable are your children as at least 250,000 are compromised a year. This may come as a bit of surprise but it actually makes the most sense. Your child get a social security number at age 2 once this info is gathered that person has a window of at least 12 years to do what they want. At 15 or so your child now goes for a job or drivers liscense only to find they can't be employed because of lien or lawsuits. Even worse they might find out that there are several arrest warrants issued for them.
2)The Elderly
This is the next group which is most likely to be targeted. They don't keep up with things the way they used to and have a lifetime of credit built up just waiting t be exploited. Also may be suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia which allows them not to remember things which may have occurred .
3)Working Adults
They are hard working and they are savvy out and about in the world but someone is always lurking around the corner. Someone may have taken a credit application from your mailbox while you're at work. Or they can pick though your trash to find a cancelled check. Or you responded to an email from what you thought as your bank . There are too many methods to go into at this time but we have put together videos for you to view at your leisure . Just don't take too long as it can be truly costly.
4)Business and Gov't
These are supposed to be in the forefront of protecting us and our money but they to are prey of this monster. There was a report last week of how there was a glitch in the social security sytem that if you had basic info on someone you could generate their social security number.
Banks and credit card companies are under constant attack from hackers who when they succeed get access to accounts on 100,000 people at a time.
5)Computers and Internet
At any given time there are in excess of 100 million people online and the scammers know this and are out to take your money. Most recently they used the fake job application to get your info or hire you and send you counterfeit checks which bounce and can cost you jail time.
6)Family
It's a shame that this has to be included but there are estimates that at least 1/3 of identity theft occurs by someone you know either family or close friend. For example the babysitter who has access to your house for several hours unattended.
7)File Sharing
It's the digital revolution and it' s a common everyday occurance of sharing mp3 files of our favorite tunes. However you must exactly know how your software works you can be sharing a video but the software allows users to goto your financial records such as tax returns.
This article is but a brief overview to help make you aware of the problem, We will be publishing articles in the future to go into more detail of each type of identity theft we have discussed.
In the meantime you'll find quite a few videos which demonstrate how these scams work and how to avoid them. Till next time be vigilant.
http://www.squidoo.com/stopidtheft
