In preparing to write about identity theft, a lot of statistics shocked me. Every number worried me more than the last.
A couple of things that I had always assumed about ID theft turn out not to be accurate. Specifically: It's seldom carried out by hackers, and most of the time it doesn't even involve credit cards.
As a matter of fact, only 20 percent of identity theft involves opening fraudulent credit card accounts. According to numbers recently released by the Federal Trade Commission, identity thieves use stolen information in numerous types of fraud. Without giving criminals any ideas, suffice it to say that becoming a victim of ID theft can make a big mess of your entire life. It does not just sully your credit report.
This was surprising, too: Barely one tenth (11 percent) of identity theft is committed by hackers and cyber-criminals. Shockingly, 48 percent is committed by an acquaintance of the victim. Taken together this implies that the receptionist at your doctor's office or the clerk at the hotel is likely to be the one who will steal your identity, not some pimple-faced computer genius in Russia. The sad fact is that even if you shred every piece of paper, never lose anything, and never touch a computer, you could easily become a victim. Unless you can monitor everyone you do business with (and everyone who works for them), it would be a good idea to find a way to help you protect yourself.
Why has identity theft grown so rampant, and why does it continue to increase? Simple: It is an easy crime to commit and a difficult crime to catch. Between 2007 and 2008 alone, ID theft rose by 22 percent. As a matter of fact, identity theft has seen a steady rise for the past decade. With the economy stuck in first gear, this trend will unfortunately continue.
Desperate people who wouldn't otherwise turn to crime see ID theft as kind of a "victimless crime" since recent fraud protection legislation puts most of the financial responsibility on lenders. Criminals -- many of whom are just desperate folks who used to have jobs -- move quickly. The average fraud takes place within a week of the swiping of personal information.
Though the damage happens fast, it takes a long time to undo, 70 hours of aggravation on average, and often the damage never gets fixed. Some victims do not find out that they are victims until years after the criminal has stolen their identity. Sometimes the IRS audits a victim for income earned by the criminal. How unfair! Other people get an extremely rude wake up call when they learn that the ID thief has committed other crimes in the victim's name. Imagine finding out that you have a criminal record when you've never so much as paid a parking ticket late.
It is critical to know that prevention is the best medicine. Identity theft is just like a disease in that preventing it is better than treating it. If you do get the disease, early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment.
Which brings us to a tiny bit of good news: You can protect yourself. I will write about that in a future article, or you can just click the link at the bottom of this article for more information right now.
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