October 2008
Monthly Archive
Identity Theft Regulations - are They Enough to Protect Us?
Identity theft is a crime in which unscrupulous individuals obtain another individual’s personal information such as driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers etc. and then use this sensitive information for any number of dubious acts. The crimes that one can commit with someone else’s information vary widely. The identity thieves may open accounts in your name and run up bills that will never be paid. They may apply for credit in your name, open up cell phone accounts, or even open checking accounts with the intention of acquiring blank checks. Your identity may also be used by these thieves to obtain false identification. In the worst-case scenarios the criminals will use your identity in the commission of other crimes resulting a warrant for your arrest.
As you can see identity theft can range from irritating to life shattering. So, what is our government doing to protect us? It wasn’t until 1998 that identity theft first became a federal crime. Various other laws have been passed since then to try to prevent identity theft as well as punish those committing the crime.
In 2001 the federal banking agencies implemented an act that was meant to establish standards for safeguarding customer information.
In 2003 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was passed. This bill set up appropriate standards for the disposal of sensitive credit report information as well as creating guidelines for recognizing patterns and specific forms of identity theft in an effort to prevent identity theft from happening.
In 2004 the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act was signed into law. This law increase the penalties for the people that committed these crimes.
The identity theft act which makes identity theft a federal crime carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000. This law also enables the Secret Service, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies to fight identity theft.
Even with all the laws that have been passed over the years identity theft is still an ever increasing problem. It seems no amount of laws or penalties will deter people from committing this crime. The best thing you can possibly do to protect yourself is to learn how to prevent identity theft from ever happening to you in the first place.
By: Stan Jenkins
About the Author:
As you can see identity theft can range from irritating to life shattering. So, what is our government doing to protect us? It wasn’t until 1998 that identity theft first became a federal crime. Various other laws have been passed since then to try to prevent identity theft as well as punish those committing the crime.
In 2001 the federal banking agencies implemented an act that was meant to establish standards for safeguarding customer information.
In 2003 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was passed. This bill set up appropriate standards for the disposal of sensitive credit report information as well as creating guidelines for recognizing patterns and specific forms of identity theft in an effort to prevent identity theft from happening.
In 2004 the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act was signed into law. This law increase the penalties for the people that committed these crimes.
The identity theft act which makes identity theft a federal crime carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000. This law also enables the Secret Service, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies to fight identity theft.
Even with all the laws that have been passed over the years identity theft is still an ever increasing problem. It seems no amount of laws or penalties will deter people from committing this crime. The best thing you can possibly do to protect yourself is to learn how to prevent identity theft from ever happening to you in the first place.
By: Stan Jenkins
About the Author:
Don’t let this happen to you! Learning to prevent identity theft is the best way to protect yourslef. For more information about ID theft visit http://www.end-identity-theft.info Don’t be a victim.
Mail this post 0 comments Thursday 30 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft protection
The History Of Identity Theft Tells Us This Is Not A New Problem But Just A Lot Easier Now
The history of identity theft is something that you should really know about, especially in the world of today where identity theft is a huge and in fact growing problem. Identity theft happens to hundreds of people each day, and so you are going to want to learn about the history of identity theft as well as how to try and protect yourself against identity theft in general.
More About the History of Identity Theft
There is much to learn about in regards to the history of identity theft, and in particular, you should know that the history of identity theft goes back a long time. Many people seem to think that identity theft is an issue that only really came to be important as of rather recently, but this is not true at all.
Identity theft has taken place for a long time now, however with the technologically advanced world that we live in now, it is happening that much more now, and it is also much easier for people to commit identity theft acts. After all, you consider how much time the average person spends on the computer, as well as how the average person has at least one credit card, and you can see two major reasons as to why identity theft is more common now than ever before.
You do not have to be a victim to identity theft however, and there are several steps in particular that you can take in order to try and protect yourself against identity theft as much as possible. One of the first things that you are going to want to do is make sure that you do not have more credit cards than you need, and so if you have more than one, pick one that you want to keep and cut up the rest.
You are also going to want to make sure that when you throw out pieces of your mail that you cut it up or rip it up, so that people cannot go through your mail and find out personal information about you. This is especially important with mail from your bank for instance, as people can easily steal your identity with this type of information.
There are many different ways that you can protect yourself against this sort of thing, and so you want to make sure that you are as knowledgeable and as informed as you can be so that you can take the best steps possible in regards to protecting yourself against identity theft.
By: Ann Marier
About the Author:
More About the History of Identity Theft
There is much to learn about in regards to the history of identity theft, and in particular, you should know that the history of identity theft goes back a long time. Many people seem to think that identity theft is an issue that only really came to be important as of rather recently, but this is not true at all.
Identity theft has taken place for a long time now, however with the technologically advanced world that we live in now, it is happening that much more now, and it is also much easier for people to commit identity theft acts. After all, you consider how much time the average person spends on the computer, as well as how the average person has at least one credit card, and you can see two major reasons as to why identity theft is more common now than ever before.
You do not have to be a victim to identity theft however, and there are several steps in particular that you can take in order to try and protect yourself against identity theft as much as possible. One of the first things that you are going to want to do is make sure that you do not have more credit cards than you need, and so if you have more than one, pick one that you want to keep and cut up the rest.
You are also going to want to make sure that when you throw out pieces of your mail that you cut it up or rip it up, so that people cannot go through your mail and find out personal information about you. This is especially important with mail from your bank for instance, as people can easily steal your identity with this type of information.
There are many different ways that you can protect yourself against this sort of thing, and so you want to make sure that you are as knowledgeable and as informed as you can be so that you can take the best steps possible in regards to protecting yourself against identity theft.
By: Ann Marier
About the Author:
Ann Merier has written many articles on family health problems and useful house and garden Topics.
More How To Prevent Identity Theft articles
More How To Prevent Identity Theft articles
Mail this post 0 comments Wednesday 29 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft protection
what is the personal cost of identity theft?
marko asked:
Does anyone have any stats on the average personal cost per case of identity theft? If so, please site your source. Thanks!
Mail this post 2 comments Tuesday 28 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft questions
What are the causes and effects of identity theft ? How can we stop it from happening ?
imbored asked:
I need to write an essay on Identity Theft, would greatly appreciate if anyone helped me.
Mail this post 1 comment Tuesday 28 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft questions
Can someone charge you if you hack into their email? Is that considered Identity theft?
seekingdsongtitle asked:
Theres this friend of mine who hacked into his bfs email and found out he was cheating. Now, he is getting back at my friend telling her that its identity theft and she will answer to the police.
Mail this post 4 comments Sunday 26 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft questions
Identity theft issues - where to get financial advice?
googlemaniac asked:
Where do you go to get financial advice when you have a bad credit score as a result of identity theft? I plan to get a new car as well as a new house/condo in the next year or so, but creditors are quick to reject a bad score, even though I pay my bills on time and I make good money (single, no dependants)
The theft issue is in the process of resolution with appropriate institutions, but creditors don’t know that.
Do you communicate to creditors themselves or do you get a lawyer? a financial advisor? Not sure what the next steps are!
Mail this post 3 comments Saturday 25 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft questions
Report Identity Theft By Knowing the Signs
Signs of identity theft can come in different forms, so be aware and report identity theft as soon as you can. They can appear as bank statements from unknown accounts, credit reports with cards or loans you don’t know about, or calls from a collection agency looking for money you don’t recall owing. All tips can lead to financial ruin and tarnishing your name because you were a victim of identity theft.
The first sign of theft could be a change in your billing cycle and act as a red flag to tell you it’s time to report identity theft. When your bills stop arriving on schedule, you need to find out why.
Contrary to popular belief, not all the criminals working to steal your name and money use online theft. You need to be concerned when there’s a change in your billing cycle.
The one thing we can count on is that bills always arrive on time. Late bills are a warning sign and you should report identity theft immediately. Contact any companies as soon as you realize a bill is late so you can verify your actual billing date with them.
This can tell you if a thief has changed your billing date from identity theft or whether bills are being sent to a new address to try and hide the fact your personal information has been stolen.
Contact the post office. You should let them know you feel you might have been the victim of theft through stolen mail. Offer a list of missing bills and let them know when the bill should have arrived at the post office.
In today’s society, it pays to monitor your bills and statements. Now that consumers have the option of banking online, it becomes easy to keep an eye on anything irregular to see the immediate effects of online theft.
A more serious sign of theft could involve having your credit denied for a large purchase. The best way to minimize fallout from such theft is to review your credit card and bank statements monthly and to check your credit report at least annually. The sooner you report identity theft, the better.
Check out every credit card statement you receive in the mail. Sometimes unauthorized changes may appear on your account, or perhaps the account number on the statement is different from the number on your card.
If this is the case, report the theft to your credit card company immediately for an explanation. You may have become the unwilling victim of identity fraud.
By: MIKE SELVON
About the Author:
The first sign of theft could be a change in your billing cycle and act as a red flag to tell you it’s time to report identity theft. When your bills stop arriving on schedule, you need to find out why.
Contrary to popular belief, not all the criminals working to steal your name and money use online theft. You need to be concerned when there’s a change in your billing cycle.
The one thing we can count on is that bills always arrive on time. Late bills are a warning sign and you should report identity theft immediately. Contact any companies as soon as you realize a bill is late so you can verify your actual billing date with them.
This can tell you if a thief has changed your billing date from identity theft or whether bills are being sent to a new address to try and hide the fact your personal information has been stolen.
Contact the post office. You should let them know you feel you might have been the victim of theft through stolen mail. Offer a list of missing bills and let them know when the bill should have arrived at the post office.
In today’s society, it pays to monitor your bills and statements. Now that consumers have the option of banking online, it becomes easy to keep an eye on anything irregular to see the immediate effects of online theft.
A more serious sign of theft could involve having your credit denied for a large purchase. The best way to minimize fallout from such theft is to review your credit card and bank statements monthly and to check your credit report at least annually. The sooner you report identity theft, the better.
Check out every credit card statement you receive in the mail. Sometimes unauthorized changes may appear on your account, or perhaps the account number on the statement is different from the number on your card.
If this is the case, report the theft to your credit card company immediately for an explanation. You may have become the unwilling victim of identity fraud.
By: MIKE SELVON
About the Author:
Get all the information you need on the signs to report identity theft from Mike Selvon’s identity theft portal, and leave a comment at his identity theft blog.
Mail this post 0 comments Saturday 25 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft protection
The Growing Concern of Identity Theft
There is a problem plaguing corporate America today. And it is a serious enough problem that could have repercussions on the very nature of our economy. This is a problem that can strike any one of us who ever held a credit card or a bank debit card or ever shopped online. The problem is one that has come to be known as Identity Theft.
The repercussions are more than mere identity. Estimates of the financial fall out of identity theft range from a few billion dollars a year to as much as 480 billion dollars! And experts in the field of identity theft only claim that it is growing by the day.
Identity theft first made an appearance in the news headlines when the odd shopper or credit card holder reported the loss of a small amount of money. Frequently, this was discovered to be related to fraud more than identity theft. One particular case that made the headlines pertained to a man who had been buying pornography on the Internet and had used his wife’s credit card. When he was found out, as he ultimately would have been found, he cried identity theft and lodged a complaint. Turns out the man had not even bothered to cover his tracks. The IP address of his computer was tracked to the websites he had visited and the hoax of identity theft was quickly discovered and plugged.
But there are several genuine cases of identity theft that occur on an alarmingly frequent basis. A recent news report mentioned the theft of a lap top from the home of a retired banker that had the credit card details of over one thousand of the bank’s clients. Why the retired banker had the information was irrelevant. What was relevant was that the theft was discovered in time to prevent any large scale identity theft. But the thieves have been getting smarter and better.
One of the more common methods of identity theft nowadays involves fraudulent retailers who set up dummy retail outlets on the banking network and try out stolen credit cards for nominal charges. Once they are approved, they typically make a large withdrawal from a nearby automated teller machine.
But as the perpetrators of identity theft get smarter, the banks too have begun installing security features that make it more and more difficult for the fraudsters. Today’s network security systems are smart enough to enable bankers to spot the first instances of identity theft almost as soon as the theft occurs. But a lot more needs to be done to restore the faith of the general public in the infallibility of their credit cards.
Identity theft will always be with us but, there are steps you can take to minimise your risk. Have a look around the web and you will see there is a plentiful supply of free information. InternetBankingRevealed.com specialises in preventing internet banking fraud. If you use internet banking then take a look: InternetBankingRevealed.com
By: John Reimann
About the Author:
The repercussions are more than mere identity. Estimates of the financial fall out of identity theft range from a few billion dollars a year to as much as 480 billion dollars! And experts in the field of identity theft only claim that it is growing by the day.
Identity theft first made an appearance in the news headlines when the odd shopper or credit card holder reported the loss of a small amount of money. Frequently, this was discovered to be related to fraud more than identity theft. One particular case that made the headlines pertained to a man who had been buying pornography on the Internet and had used his wife’s credit card. When he was found out, as he ultimately would have been found, he cried identity theft and lodged a complaint. Turns out the man had not even bothered to cover his tracks. The IP address of his computer was tracked to the websites he had visited and the hoax of identity theft was quickly discovered and plugged.
But there are several genuine cases of identity theft that occur on an alarmingly frequent basis. A recent news report mentioned the theft of a lap top from the home of a retired banker that had the credit card details of over one thousand of the bank’s clients. Why the retired banker had the information was irrelevant. What was relevant was that the theft was discovered in time to prevent any large scale identity theft. But the thieves have been getting smarter and better.
One of the more common methods of identity theft nowadays involves fraudulent retailers who set up dummy retail outlets on the banking network and try out stolen credit cards for nominal charges. Once they are approved, they typically make a large withdrawal from a nearby automated teller machine.
But as the perpetrators of identity theft get smarter, the banks too have begun installing security features that make it more and more difficult for the fraudsters. Today’s network security systems are smart enough to enable bankers to spot the first instances of identity theft almost as soon as the theft occurs. But a lot more needs to be done to restore the faith of the general public in the infallibility of their credit cards.
Identity theft will always be with us but, there are steps you can take to minimise your risk. Have a look around the web and you will see there is a plentiful supply of free information. InternetBankingRevealed.com specialises in preventing internet banking fraud. If you use internet banking then take a look: InternetBankingRevealed.com
By: John Reimann
About the Author:
To see our Easy Step-By-Step Guide to Banking online safely click here Internett Banking.||||Or, see our homepage for all latest on: Banking Deals
Mail this post 0 comments Friday 24 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft protection
I heard it hurts your credit score to close accounts. What about Identity theft?
Smothers65 asked:
I read in many places that it hurts your credit score to close accounts for many reasons. If you just leave them open and shred the cards, aren’t you setting yourself up for identity theft?
Mail this post 3 comments Thursday 23 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft questions
The Optional Identity Theft Solutions We All Should Be Using
There are so many identity theft solutions that you have to choose from, and so if you are intelligent and you are worried about identity theft - as it is one of the biggest problems in the world today - then you can really rest assured in knowing that there are many different identity theft solutions that are available for you to use.
More About Identity Theft Solutions
If you are wondering about identity theft solutions, then you are going to want to know that there are actually several identity theft solutions in particular that are incredibly important and that you are going to have to take into consideration no matter what.
The first is in regards to your mail. Far too often people receive bank statements and other bills in the mail and end up just throwing them out regularly, however you are going to want to know that this is actually a big mistake. You never want to throw out any mail that has your personal information or even your address on it without ripping or cutting it up, as someone could go through your trash and use this mail to steal your identity.
Especially if it is something such as a bank statement, on which is clearly most of your most private personal information, and even though your bank card number and password are most likely not displayed right on the mail itself, there are ways that a perpetrator could take that mail, figure it out, and end up stealing your identity.
Unfortunately, a person really does not need much in order to be able to steal someone else’s identity, and this is why it is truly so critical that you take all of the precautions into account, so that you can be as best protected and knowledgeable as possible. You also want to make sure that all of your family and friends understand this too, so that as many people as possible will be prepared against identity theft.
You can go to seminars or do your own research as well, in order to gain the most knowledge possible, and after all, the more you know the better you will be able to protect yourself against something such as identity theft, and thus the better off you are going to be overall. Have patience, and remember that anyone can be a victim of identity theft.
By: Ann Marier
About the Author:
More About Identity Theft Solutions
If you are wondering about identity theft solutions, then you are going to want to know that there are actually several identity theft solutions in particular that are incredibly important and that you are going to have to take into consideration no matter what.
The first is in regards to your mail. Far too often people receive bank statements and other bills in the mail and end up just throwing them out regularly, however you are going to want to know that this is actually a big mistake. You never want to throw out any mail that has your personal information or even your address on it without ripping or cutting it up, as someone could go through your trash and use this mail to steal your identity.
Especially if it is something such as a bank statement, on which is clearly most of your most private personal information, and even though your bank card number and password are most likely not displayed right on the mail itself, there are ways that a perpetrator could take that mail, figure it out, and end up stealing your identity.
Unfortunately, a person really does not need much in order to be able to steal someone else’s identity, and this is why it is truly so critical that you take all of the precautions into account, so that you can be as best protected and knowledgeable as possible. You also want to make sure that all of your family and friends understand this too, so that as many people as possible will be prepared against identity theft.
You can go to seminars or do your own research as well, in order to gain the most knowledge possible, and after all, the more you know the better you will be able to protect yourself against something such as identity theft, and thus the better off you are going to be overall. Have patience, and remember that anyone can be a victim of identity theft.
By: Ann Marier
About the Author:
Ann Marier has written many articles on health problems and useful house and garden Topics. More articles on How To Prevent Identity Theft And Computer Crime
Mail this post 0 comments Thursday 23 Oct 2008 | admin | identity theft protection