Coping With Identity Theft

Lock your doors, put your money in the safe, and hire security guards to protect your valuables. But what can you do if someone steals your identity? If someone steals something valuable, you can call the police and hope to get it back. Identity theft has been called the crime of the 21st century because it affects so many people, but there's not much you can do about it. Identity theft is becoming more common, and almost everyone can be a victim of this new type of fraud.

How do you do it?

Criminals steal credit card numbers, social security numbers, calling cards, ATM cards, and other important parts of people's identities in any way they can. The information on these is used to pretend to be the victim and spend as much money as possible in as little time as possible.

Steps or Precautions to Take

1. Pick up the new checks you ordered at the bank. Don't let them be sent to your home address.
2. If you don't have to, don't carry valuable papers and cards with you when you go out.
3. Sign up for the Mail Preference Service and the Telephone Preference Service from the Direct Marketing Association. If you do this, your name will be added to the computerised lists of names that marketers use all over the country.
4. Don't give out information over the phone unless the person calling you is from a company you know and trust. Lottery and "lucky dip" calls are usually scams, so you shouldn't answer them.
5. Don't send bills or other important mail to the neighbourhood drop boxes. Instead, send them to the post office. The address could be changed if the envelopes with the address got into the wrong hands.
6. Install a locked mailbox at your home to keep the mail system safe.
7. Make sure that your important information is being kept safe by financial institutions. Make them take the account numbers off the ATM slips and shred the paper reports before they throw them away.
8. When making passwords and PINs, don't use numbers from your social security number, birth date, middle name, or any other important personal numbers. Criminals can easily figure out these numbers.
9. Only give out Social Security Numbers (SSN) if you have to.

After the Burglary

1. Don't blame yourself for the theft. Since you were the victim, you shouldn't feel bad about it. Instead, deal with the situation calmly.
2. Tell the banks, close all your savings and checking accounts, and open new ones.
3. After telling the Federal Trade Commission that your ID was stolen, file an ID theft affidavit with them. This affidavit can be sent to credit bureaus and banks to close accounts and debts that were opened in your name without your permission.
4. Call the three companies that keep track of your credit and ask them to mark the accounts. Ask for a fraud alert to be added to the report, and if you want to, you can add more to it later. With this fraud alert, creditors will be able to get in touch with you if someone tries to open an account in your name.
5. It is important to tell the police about identity theft as soon as you think it has happened. Give all of the necessary written proof. Even if the police won't give you the report, keep asking for it. Banks and credit card companies will want to see the police report.

Do not let a small thief mess with your reputation and the respect you have earned. People you know are sometimes the ones who use your identity against you in order to hurt you. To be on the safe side, don't tell anyone any personal information. Your identity is yours to keep; no one else has the right to take it away from you.