Identity theft is a fast-growing and very serious crime. Identity theft is no longer a rare occurrence. Chances are, you probably know someone who has been a victim of identity theft…or you are a victim yourself. Identity theft is on the rise all around the world, mainly because it is getting so much easier to obtain peoples personal information thanks to the internet. There are many types of identity theft, but in any form, identity theft is a crime of opportunity, so you may be victimized simply because your personal information is available on the internet, regardless of whether YOU use the internet, or not.

Even though identity theft has become a very hot topic, it is not a new concept or crime. Identity thieves can victimize people who do not even own a computer or know much more than how to turn a computer on.

How Your Identity Is Stolen

Identity theft criminals can obtain your personal information in several different ways. Scrounging for your personal paperwork and discarded mail from trash cans and dumpsters (also called “dumpster diving”) is one of the easiest ways for an identity thief to get personal information on their next victim. Think about it…. what’s in YOUR trash can?

Then we have the internet. Identity thieves LOVE the internet! They can use it to easily gather all sorts of sensitive information about you. Even if YOU don’t use the internet, companies you deal with, your banks and credit card companies…your power company… all have your information in an online database.

Worse yet, the internet has made it not just easier for an identity thief to GET your informations, the web has also made it so much easier to USE your information they’ve stolen. How? Simple, most internet transactions can be made without any real verification of identity. If the criminal has your credit card number and expiration date… there will be a shopping spree in your name! Yes! Internet identity theft is THAT easy.

Thankfully, by learning how to manage your financial activities online, you can reduce some access to your personal information. With better identity theft prevention tips, you can reduce the chance of being an identity theft victim from information stolen from paper bills and statements, too. While these prevention steps help reduce your exposure, many identity theft victims will agree that these precautions are far from enough.

Identity Theft Victims – The Reality of Identity Theft

The experience of the thousands and thousands of identity theft victims carries two common traits – the frustration of being an identity theft victim, and the COST of trying to repair the damage. This frustrating experience often requires months – even years – of endless paperwork, explaining, and time to even try and repair. Not only that, but the damage inflicted on a victims reputation and the time spent trying to mend the trail of destruction cannot easily be regained or compensated for. In many cases, an identity theft victim’s losses may include not only substantial financial losses, but staggering costs associated with trying to restore their reputation in their community and correcting damaging information to their personal credit report for which the criminal is responsible.

If you suspect that you’ve become a victim of identity theft, act fast. The quicker you react, the more likely you are to minimize the damage to your personal information and financial records… and to your reputation.

Identity Theft is Real – It CAN Happen to YOU

Many consumers have a, “Oh, that won’t happen to ME” attitude. That is such a mistake. Or, perhaps, consumers think that it wouldn’t be “that big of a deal” if it DID happen to them. Again, a foolish thought pattern.

So, just how bad does identity theft get?

Let’s take this example – An identity theft criminal impersonates you online. This criminal steals money from your bank account, uses your credit cards to make purchases, uses your information to apply for credit and loans.

Couple thousand… couple HUNDRED thousand dollars in damage.

No big deal, right?

But wait, maybe the criminal has more serious intentions and uses your personal information to open fake businesses with intention of running criminal activity within these businesses.

Now you have a criminal record, arrest warrants….. no big deal, right?

Thing is,this is if the criminal is only focused on YOUR personal information.

Did you know that identity thieves gather MASS amounts of personal information from hundreds, thousands of people, at a time? They can then use all that personal information on a mass scale to apply for credit cards, loans, and bank accounts… all online.

Thing is, it is not even that hard to do. The overwhelming power of the internet and ever-improving software have made it so easy for drug addicts and criminals to research your identity online, obtain credit cards illegally in your name, open bank accounts, get loans, print perfect reproductions of checks, and endless other damaging activities.

Guess what? Identity Theft IS a big deal. It is very real and can happen to anyone.

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

As you can see, the internet has made it much easier for an identity criminal to cause massive destruction to your life. Each and every day, more websites are popping up on the internet and many of them are not legitimate businesses. They solely exist to get your personal information, preferably your credit card number, so they can commit serious fraud and have a field day with YOUR credit card. The internet has also made it much easier for criminals to sell your information, making it more difficult for law enforcement and government officials to track.

Two Best Tools to Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft can happen to anyone, regardless of whether or not you use the internet. Identity theft is not an unusual crime any more in today’s world. Actually, it has become common. Yes, identity theft is a felony; but your local police cannot help you with your credit record or do anything to undo the damage that has already been done.

Don’t want to be a victim of identity theft? No doubt! Who DOES?

Without exception, your two greatest deterrents to identity theft are a paper shredder and identity theft prevention insurance. These two very low-cost proactive tools can keep identity theft away from your home and family, and save YOU from a world of hassle and expense.

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Identity Theft Won’t Happen to Me….Right?

A common belief is that identity theft only happens to those that are well-off or have good credit. That is a completely false belief.

Read on and learn about the various types of identity theft and you will see that virtually everyone has personal information that can be compromised by an identity thief. Not protecting yourself is just like inviting chaos, financial ruin, and possibly legal disaster into your life.

Five types of Identity Theft

All consumers should be aware of the following types of identity theft and their possible consequences.

Credit Card Theft

This type of identity theft is fairly straight-forward. Someone steals your credit card or your credit card account information and uses it to make purchases without your knowledge or consent. One day, an innocent trip to your mailbox shows thousands of dollars you owe for purchases you never made.

Congratulations, you are now the next victim of credit card identity theft.

Most credit card companies offer protection for consumers against this type of identity theft. Most likely, your credit card company has limits of liabilities that you are liable to pay if you report the unauthorized charges in a proper and timely manner. Keep in mind that these limits of liability only apply to credit card transactions and NOT to debit card transactions.

Contact your personal bank for individual policies regarding debit card liability limits.

Drivers License Theft

It happens all the time – one minute you have your wallet, the next minute it’s gone and in the hands of a thief. Most American consumers will have no less than their drivers license in their wallet and may also have credit cards, bank cards, and other sensitive information. This personal information in the wrong hands can truly wreak havoc on your life, no doubt! But, what can an identity theft criminal do with your drivers license?

An identity thief has many avenues of opportunity available with your drivers license information. Simply, they could drive – and get speeding tickets – under YOUR drivers license information. Imagine going through a routine traffic stop and finding out you have bench warrants out for “your”arrest for unpaid speeding and parking tickets! Unfortunately, that is the best case scenario when someone goes afoul with your drivers license.

The information on your drivers license is all an identity thief needs to run a full background check online – and find out more about you then you can imagine. Just check out this site or take a look at this site.

Scary, isn’t it?!?!

For a small fee, anyone with very limited information on you can find out everything about you…and then become “you” as a full blown case of criminal identity theft prevails.

The main objective of Identity-Theft-FAQ.com is to promote identity theft awareness. Part of our job is to expose unknown dangers to your personal information and educate you to help reduce your chances of being an identity theft victim.

Sadly, it takes the average consumer a year or more to realize this is even happening to them.

Criminal Identity Theft

Once your personal identity information has been breached, these seasoned identity theft criminals go on a spree of crime all under your name. Imagine applying for a new job only to be turned down because (surprise!) “you” are a convicted felon.

It happens – often!

This type of identity theft is also referred to as “character identity theft”. In a nutshell, someone assumes your identity and commits crimes resulting in warrants being served for YOUR arrest…and very possible, time in jail before anything gets straighten out. One victim of criminal identity theft was told that once your name is connected with criminal activity, it never really goes away.

Criminal identity theft victims are sadly, “guilty until proven innocent”.

Medical Identity Theft

Medical Identity theft cases are adding up quickly as the cost of medical care continues to rise. In summary, someone steals your identity and/or health insurance information, and receives care under your name. This can result in unpaid medical bills that “you” owe or being turned down for life insurance because according to your medical records, “you” have been treated for cancer, HIV, or addiction.

Identity theft and medical records theft is one of the most un-thought of types of identity theft that all consumers should be aware of.

Social Security Number Theft

Social Security number identity theft is the “jackpot” for identity criminals. Your social security number is the key to everything about you. This type of identity theft does not only happen by simply giving your social security number online. Social security number theft can happen without you ever having any control over it. A carelessly tossed credit application getting into the wrong hands at a business establishment is all it takes – and it can be months, maybe years before you find out. By then, its way too late. So much damage will have been done in your name, to your credit report, and to your name.

If your social security number gets in the wrong hands, all it takes is an internet connection to find out everything about you. If you ever wanted to know how to find someone by their social security number or just find out about someone with their social security number, take a look at this site. Again, for a very low, one-time fee, someone can do social security background-type checks as often as they want. When you take a look at their sample reports, you can see that the information one can obtain from this type of database can be very dangerous if in the wrong hands.

Identity theft CAN happen to you. It can happen to anyone.

How Can I Protect Myself From Being the Next Victim of Identity Theft?

Worst part is, there is nothing you can change to prevent some types of identity theft on your own. Simply changing your spending habits, shredding of your documents, be careful with your online activity, etc is not enough to keep it from happening to you. Nowadays, simply getting someones name, address, and phone number out of a phone book is more than enough information for an identity thief to find out everything they need to bring disaster into your life.

Identity theft vicitims have reported an average of $8000 to repair damage done after being a victim.

The only thing that is guaranteed to protect you is identity theft prevention insurance. While credit reporting companies will alert you AFTER someone has compromised your personal information, identity theft prevention insurance stops it BEFORE it happens. The best identity theft protection comes from Life Lock.

Learn More about Identity Theft Prevention Insurance

Get a Free Copy of How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft compliments of Identity-Theft-FAQ.com

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Credit card identity theft is an increasing crime both online and off. The statistics for this type of identity theft are staggering – and quite frightening.

Learning how credit card identity theft happens is the first step in learning how to protect yourself from this crime.

How Does Credit Card Identity Theft Happen?

Credit card identity thieves don’t actually need your credit card to steal your personal information and rob you blind. Identity thieves are not beyond rummaging through your trash to find a carelessly thrown away credit card statement or sneaking in your mailbox to steal a bank statement. These documents give them all they need they go on a whirl-wind shopping spree – leaving YOU with the bill.

When someone uses your credit card information without your consent or knowledge, this is called credit card fraud. However, credit card fraud is the gateway to a full-blown case of identity theft for most consumers.

Details that can be obtained from your credit accounts can give these criminals the building blocks to build a complete profile on you – and then totally consume your identity ruining your good name in the process.

How Can I Prevent Credit Card Identity Theft?

Common sense and a good identity theft protection strategy are the crucial first steps that can deter a potential credit card identity theft from happening.

• If you want to throw away any credit card statements or documents that have sensitive information on them, shred it first.

• Check you mail regularly. If you can’t check your mailbox everyday, ask a neighbor or trusted friend. Mail sitting in a mailbox invites trouble.

• Analyze each and every charge on your credit card statements. If anything appears suspicious, report it immediately to your credit card institution.

• Try to not let your credit cards out of your sight when shopping. Also, if a merchant is still using the old carbon copy style of processing credit cards, ask for the carbon insert.

• When using your credit card online, make sure you are giving your information thru a secure connection from the merchant. A simple “https” at the beginning of the web address can tell you that the connection is secure and will put you at a lower risk for online identity theft issues.

• If your credit card company offers photo credit cards, get one! A credit card with the correct owners photo on the front makes it easier for merchants to note unauthorized use of a credit card.

The Reality of Credit Card Identity Theft

US consumers are only responsible for up to $50 of unauthorized charges in a case of credit card fraud, but a full-blown case of identity theft is another story. Identity theft victims have reported an average cast of $8,000 to repair the damage done to their credit.

The only sure-fire way to guarantee your credit card information, and your identity as a whole, is kept safe is through the use of an identity theft protection service such as LifeLock.

As a consumer, it is important to educate yourself on identity theft and protect yourself and your good name.

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The facts are that today we are a digital society.

More than 75% of homes in the United States have access to the internet through at least one computer.

The internet has provided consumers with such luxuries as online bill paying, financial accounts access, and endless opportunities for shopping. Fact is, being able to access so much information online on the internet has left open the door for online identity theft and it is vital to protect yourself at all times from potential online identity theft criminals.

What is Online Identity Theft?

Online identity theft (also referred to as “digital identity theft” or “cyber identity theft”) is a golden opportunity for identity theft criminals. Identity theft criminals seek out internet access to your personal information such as banking account passwords, social security number, and credit card account numbers.

Think about it. Everyone seems to be online these days. Whether consumers are shopping, paying bills, or balancing their checkbook there is also someone, somewhere, who is out there hacking personal information looking for their next victim.

The statistics surrounding online identity theft are enough to make anyone want to disconnect their internet for good.

Who is at Risk for Online Identity Theft?

Fact is, if you use the internet, you are a target for online identity theft. Fraud, phishing, and credit repair scams are just a few types of computer crimes and identity theft online.

Define Phishing – What is a Phishing Scam?

Phishing is a popular cyber crime that is seriously on the rise.

Phishing scams are when emails are sent to you that appear to be from your bank or another sensitive account. These phishing emails will ask you to click a link to access your personal information on said account – usually by instilling a sense of urgency such as a problem with your account.

Since these emails appear to be legitimate, many consumers fall for these phishing scams hook, line and sinker – and freely give their personal information away to these online identity theft thieves.

The impact of phishing has been tragic as many lives have been shattered by simply clicking a link within a phishing email.

How Can I Protect Myself From Online Identity Theft?

Protecting yourself from online identity theft takes some precautionary steps. These steps are designed to reduce your exposure by making it more difficult for identity thieves to access your personal information online.

1. Online Account Passwords

• Make your online passwords unique and difficult to guess. The longer and more random your online passwords are, the better.

• If you use the option for your computer to remember your online passwords for you, make sure you have a firewall installed on your computer.

2. Emails

• Avoid clicking any link within an email that you do not recognize.

Instead, always access your bank account through your internet browser to have any correspondence or activity with your bank account information.

3. Firewall Protection and Secure Connections

• If you don’t have a firewall installed on your computer, it’s the same as simply handing your identity to an online identity thief.

• If a website asks for more than a first name and an email address, make sure the website is offering you a secure connection to send your personal information through. By looking in your browser window, a secure connection will begin with the letters “https”.

4. Online Accounts

• If you use online banking, check you accounts often. Report any suspicious activity to your online institution immediately. Also, consumers need to continue reporting phishing scams to help reduce the impact of this nasty crime.

Online Identity Theft – Don’t Be a Victim

The primary target to be a victim of online identity theft is the consumer with the attitude of “Oh, that won’t happen to me”.

Whether you choose to use the internet or not, reality is, your personal information is on at least ONE computer somewhere.

If you have obtained insurance, have a banking account, or any of the number of normal day to day needs of US consumers, someone has your information on a computer.

Online identity theft CAN happen to you.

It can happen to anyone.

Is there any way I can guarantee my personal info is safe online?

Yes! Educate yourself about identity theft and make use of a guaranteed and proactive identity theft prevention insurance program such as LifeLock. While other identity theft prevention services will inform you after your personal information has been compromised, LifeLock will stop identity theft from ever effecting your life – and they have a One Million Dollar guarantee to back it up.

Considering it costs the average victim of identity theft upwards of $8,000 to repair the damage, the small cost of identity theft prevention insurance is a logical choice to protect your activity online, your personal information, and your peace of mind.

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Identity theft in colleges accounts for more than 31% of all identity theft cases each year. College students are an all time high-risk for being the next identity theft victim. What can college students do to prevent being an identity theft victim?

When consumers randomly think about identity theft, most assume this crime only happens to the more affluent and mature community. Nothing is farther from the truth. A shocking identity theft statistic shows that those in the age range of 18-29 are the most prominent targets for identity theft.

Here is an extensive warning from the Department of Education.

Why is identity theft so prevalent in colleges?

There are many reasons why college students are targets for Identity Theft.

First, they usually have reasonable credit. It is worthwhile to steal their identity.

Next, identity theft is the last thing on college students minds. I mean there is parties, drinking, studying for classes going on every night.

Also, within a college campus community, a students social security number is their access to many services and needs. Grades are posted by a students social security number – usually for many eyes to see. A students social security number is also needed to register for classes and to access student files.

A college students social security number is not difficult to access- and that simple nine-digit number is all an identity thief needs to run a-muck with your credit.

Why Do College Students Make Ideal Targets for Identity Theft?

College students are, as a norm, less attentive to their personal credit record than older consumers, let’s not forget about all of that studying going on.

Lack of assets at this time in their life gives a college student a false sense of security regarding the safety of their personal information.

Also, for a free $5 t-shirt Credit card companies market to and heavily recruit the college students, mostly the 18-29 year old market and are free to extend credit to this age bracket. I admit to getting a free t-shirt in my day (it had our logo on it it!)

College students are some of the perfect candidates for identity theft.

Well-seasoned identity criminals know it could be months and months before a college student even realizes that his/her identity has been stolen.

How Can College Students Avoid Being A Victim of Identity Theft?

First, educate yourself as much as possible. It is important for college students to recognize their increased exposure to a crime like identity theft. Students must learn to protect their credit and personal information from getting into the wrong hands by reading tips to prevent identity theft – and putting those guidelines into practice.

Your shortest solution is signing up for an identity theft program like LifeLock.com. Because the increased exposure a college student faces with so many variables that can’t be adjusted – it is highly recommended that all college students take additional precautions and protect their personal credit information with an identity theft prevention insurance company like .

Not all identity theft protection services are the same. Many of these services simply alert you after there has already been a breach on your personal information. By then, it may be too late.

LifeLock puts measures in place to keep identity thieves from getting anywhere near your personal information – and they guarantee it – with a One Million Dollar Guarantee.

To learn more about identity theft, take this quiz to test your identity theft awareness. Then, sign up for our FREE Identity Theft eBook and eCourse to learn how to protect yourself from identity theft – the fastest growing crime.

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Preventing identity theft requires a change in financial and daily habits. Protecting your personal information is the number one way to be proactive to try and keep your identity from being stolen. Remember, all an identity theft thief needs is a simple social security number to wreak havoc on your financial life and emotional well-being.

10 Tips To Prevent Identity Theft

1. Protect your social security number. Do not keep it in your wallet or any place that is easily accessible to a criminal.

2. Shred everything. Using a paper shredder after reviewing your personal information before throwing it away is very important. Identity thieves go through trash.

3. Use care when using a bank ATM machine. “Shoulder Surfing” is on the rise and it another main way criminals get the information they need to commit identity theft.

4. Check your credit card and bank statements regularly and completely. Take note of any activity that does not look familiar to you. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately.

5. Don’t sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, write “See Photo ID”.

6. Take care to limit the amount of information you choose to have pre-printed on your checks. Do NOT have your social security number pre-printed.

7. Retrieve your mail from your mailbox as soon as possible. Criminals will not hesitate to get in your mailbox and take bank statements, credit card statements, etc.

8. Be wary of pre-approved credit card offers.

9. Take care to not freely offer sensitive personal information over the phone. Be sure of who you are speaking to and why this information is needed.

10. Take advantage of identity theft protection services from a company like LifeLock< Identity Theft Prevention Insurance from Lifelock guarantees that you will not be a victim of identity theft – and that is backed by a Guarantee. No other Identity Theft Protection Service guarantees that your identity will be kept safe.

For more information on how to protect yourself from identity theft, please sign up for our free e-course and 62-page free identity theft eBook.

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