Have you ever had your identity stolen? Identity theft is now the most common crime in the U.S., so if you've been a victim, you're not alone. There are many kinds of identity theft, but by far the biggest problem is online identity theft. Since hackers are getting better at what they do and hundreds of thousands of credit card transactions go through the internet every day, it is becoming risky to shop online.
You can stop identity theft in a number of ways so that you don't add to an already shocking number. Identity theft happens most often when people give out personal information through scam emails. You've probably seen them and may have even fallen for them. Every day, thousands of fake emails from the IRS, banks, and Paypal claim to be from those places.
In these emails, they ask for personal information like your credit card number or social security number. The email wants you to send in your information so they can renew your account or check on your bank. All they want is your personal information so they can use it against you. This is called identity theft.
Even though it's hard to believe, it is possible to buy things without actually buying them. Check your credit card statements every month to see if there are any purchases you can't explain. If you buy anything online, there is a chance that your credit card number will be stolen and used by a hacker to buy lots of things.
Identity theft is a scary crime because you might not even know you've been a victim for several months. It might be too hard to find the person by then. Even though you aren't responsible for any of the unauthorised charges, it is a huge hassle to figure out what happened. You have to check your credit report, get new credit cards, and maybe even close your bank account and open a new one.
Identity theft is a hassle for credit card companies just as much as it is for you. Every year, 50 billion dollars are lost because of credit cards. In order to stop this from happening, many credit card companies are making new software that can better find identity theft and identity theft on the internet. Some software now looks for strange purchases, like a lot of money spent in a short time.
Even though there are many ways to have your identity stolen, internet identity theft has become more and more of a problem over the past few years. With a rise into the number one crime in the U.S., it is vital that you are careful when purchasing or submitting any personal information because you never know if you may be the next victim of identity theft.
