Why You Need To Report Identity Theft Immediately
The crime of identity theft is steadily rising, and the reason for this is that most people do not realize exactly how easy the crime is to commit by those who are intent on doing so. Carelessly throwing those credit card offers you get in the mail all the time without ripping them up beyond recognition or shredding them as almost as good as wearing a sign around your neck that says “I want to be a victim of identity theft”.
Briefly, identity theft is when someone opens credit card accounts, department store accounts, or even bank loans in your name, using your information and your social security number. This obviously happens without your knowledge. While there are certain safeguards in place, banks and department stores are more than anxious to get your business, and are often a bit too quick on the trigger to approve a new application without thorough investigation. The first you have heard about it is when you get a phone call from the bank or department store asking why your account is past due, and you do not even have an account with them.
Another way this happens, and senior citizens are often the target of this approach, is when someone gets an email from what appears to be their bank, complete with their bank logo and what appears to be the bank’s return email address. Yes, this type of email is very official-looking, and in some cases is even better than what the bank would send out themselves. The email asks the recipient to go to this site or click this link because there was a problem with the account and they need to verify your identity so that their system can “correct an error”. This is known as “phishing” and an incredible number of people fall for this scam very year. Your bank will NEVER ask you to verify personal information online, so NEVER respond to such an email, or if you are concerned that it may be real, CALL your bank first to ask if the email is real.
If you find that you have become of victim of identity theft, you need to report it immediately. Doing so will help the situation, and will avoid more damage being done, particularly financial damage to you that you may be responsible for, or have a very difficult time getting away from.
How would you know if you are a victim of identity theft? You should get regular copies of your credit reports and go over them with a fine tooth comb. This brings up another issue – there are more than likely ERRORS in your credit report, since this is very common for the majority of consumers, and those errors can easily cause your credit score to be lower than it should be. You may want to visit