Implementing Identity Theft Protection

The crime of identity theft is reaching epic proportions across the country, and in fact is one of the fastest growing crimes of this century. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) records indicate that identity theft has been topping their list of consumer complaints for a few years already, accounting for more than 40% of all complaints filed with the FTC.

In addition to the crime aspect of identity theft, the amount of money lost as a result of identity theft is estimated to be over $50 billion dollars every year, making it one of the most costly crimes on record to date. This includes identity theft losses from businesses as well as individual consumers.

Identity theft is not limited to the simple act of using your credit card to make an online purchase. In fact, the Internet is frequently not even associated with this crime, despite what some doomsayers claim about online transactions. But it is surprising to note that as much as 70% of cases are an inside job for business cases, meaning that the thief is an employee of the business, perhaps even a business you shop at today.

Another surprising fact is that in almost 27% of reported cases of ID theft, the victim of the theft either knew the thief or were related to them in some way. Keep in mind that these are actual reported cases of identity theft, as opposed to a misunderstanding amongst relatives or family members, or in other words, was done in a malicious manner.

The first cardinal rule in identity theft protection is that you need to be extremely careful what types of personal information you give out, even to people you know. How well do you really know them? Ask yourself if they really need this personal information about you, and then consider if it is worth the risk if you provide it to them.

The "keys to your kingdom" is your social security number. Do not carry your social security card in your wallet or purse. There are very few occasions when you need to divulge that piece of information and it is not something you should carry with you in case your wallet or purse is stolen.

If you spend any amount of time online at all, you have probably seen the spam emails that are allegedly from your bank or credit union, asking you to click a link to verify your personal information. Never ever click the link in those emails. Although the email may look official, complete with your bank's graphic logo, any 12 year old these days can create such an email, and if you give out your personal information at the site you are taken to, you have become a victim. A real bank or financial institution would never ask you to verify that information online. If in doubt, call your bank and ask what kind of information they need you to verify, where you will almost always find that they have NOT had a security breach and do not need you to verify anything.

Keep your eyes open and consider what information you are giving out and ask yourself if that person really needs that information about you. Your identity is your business, and the months of hassles you will endure if you are a victim of identity theft is not worth the risk.

Article Source: http://www.share.onlypunjab.com

Jay Anderson follows identity theft and has written many articles about Identity Theft Protection, get more information at his web site at www.idtheftprotectiontips.com

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