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How Identity Theft OccursYou need to be aware of how identity theft occurs because there are numerous ways thieves can get their hands on your personal information to conduct fraudulent activity in your name,causing you big financial problems. • Stealing personal information from your home. It can happen from a relative, a neighbor, children's friends, or from someone who is doing repair work in your home. • Stealing credit card statements, bank statements, pre-approved credit card applications, checks, or other documents with your information from your home mail box. • Stealing purses or wallets from homes, businesses, vehicles, or when left unattended. There is a wealth of information contained within these. • Finding usable information from trash cans or dumpsters. Wadded up and thrown away pieces of paper containing your personal information may seem like trash to you, but it is treasure to identity thieves. • Stealing information about you from places of employment. This does not even have to be where you work. People who are employed by businesses or organizations where your information is kept on file may be able to access it, steal it, and use it. This can be a hospital, doctor's office, computer store, bank, utilities department, etc. • Working through "insiders" to collect information from their places of employment. This is similar to above, where identity thieves may collaborate with friends or offer payment for information they can steal and use in fraudulent ways. • Sending official looking letters or emails claiming to be from your bank, insurance company, or other legitimate business asking for you to "verify" personal information. This is referred to as "phishing." • Making telephone calls claiming to be from your bank, credit card company, or other legitimate business asking for you to provide them with your personal information. • Hacking into the databases of organizations to access information, or even better, stealing computers or unsecured disks from places that contain your personal information. There seems to be too much carelessness when it comes to securing people's personal information. • Watching or listening to you as you use account numbers, passwords, and PINs (personal identification numbers). Once identity thieves have access to these numbers, they are in business. • Accessing your credit bureau reports by pretending to be from a business that has a right to request your credit report. • Completing a "change of address" form to redirect your mail to another location where the thieves can receive it. • Collecting your personal information you leave behind on a computer or that you share on an unsecured site. Watch this video for more information.
These are some of the main ways your personal information can get into the hands of those who will use it to gain financially at your expense. As you gain a better understanding of how identity theft occurs, you become more aware of just how important it is to guard your personal information and learning all you can to
prevent identity theft.
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