| If you think that identity theft can never | | | | the most dangerous of all identity thefts as |
| happen to you, think again. Just take a look | | | | it uses both social engineering and technical |
| at statistics concerning identity theft, and | | | | subterfuge. |
| you can see that the crime of identity theft | | | | |
| is closer to you than you may realize. | | | | Phishing is when the victim receives an email |
| | | | that appears to be from a bank or other |
| According to the Federal Trade Commission | | | | financial institution. The victim is then |
| (FTC), identity theft affects as many as 10 | | | | told to click a link and verify his/her |
| million Americans each year. Nearly 5% of the | | | | account information or supply personal |
| people living in the US will become an | | | | identity data. The victim believes the link |
| identity theft victim and the numbers are | | | | to be a legitimate site when in fact the |
| increasing each year. The FTC even reported | | | | identity thief now uses the victim's data to |
| that they currently received nearly 40% more | | | | gain access to account information and empty |
| identity theft complaints than the previous | | | | the bank account. Phishers can also take out |
| year. What is more alarming is that identity | | | | credit cards in the victim's name, and steal |
| theft costs businesses and financial | | | | ISP account information. |
| institutions nearly $53 billion annually. | | | | |
| | | | According to the latest findings of the |
| The most common types of identity theft are | | | | research group Gartner, close to 60 million |
| credit card frauds, communications service | | | | Americans reported receiving a phishing |
| fraud, bank fraud and loan fraud. Credit card | | | | email, and about 1.7 million people have been |
| fraud is when someone else uses your credit | | | | victims, costing banks and credit card |
| or uses your personal data to apply for a | | | | companies approximately $1.2 billion in |
| credit card. Meanwhile, communications | | | | losses. |
| service fraud deals with someone opening a | | | | |
| cell phone or utility services account using | | | | All these figures and information about |
| your information without your knowledge. For | | | | identity theft are definitely alarming. To |
| bank fraud, a common scam is the thief opens | | | | avoid being the next identity theft |
| up a checking account using your identity and | | | | statistic, it's better to take measures to |
| then proceeds to write bogus checks. | | | | protect yourself against identity theft like |
| | | | keeping your personal information private, |
| For years, identity thieves get valuable | | | | subscribing to an identity theft service, and |
| personal information through stealing mail, | | | | many more. These are just simple steps that |
| snatching purses, or searching garbage for | | | | take only a few moments of your time. These |
| discarded bank statements or credit card | | | | few moments are indeed worth the while |
| receipts. With rapid technological | | | | considering you can either spend countless |
| advancement, most identity thieves now employ | | | | hours trying to manage the damage done by |
| phishing. Statistics reveal phishing to be | | | | identity theft. |