How Does Identity Theft Happen?Identity theft can happen when a fraudster obtains your social security number, along with other personal information such as your date of birth, address, phone number, or driver’s license number. The identity thief can use this information to create a fake document such as a false driver’s license with your name on it, and use this to apply for credit, often providing a different address in the guise of having moved. Some credit providers may fail to very the address or other information, and approve the credit, which will be in your name. When one account is opened, the fraudster can use this to appear more credible and apply for even more credit, or possibly lease a car or apartment, or apply for various services including telecom and broadband. An identity thief can obtain your identity by “dumpster diving,” or going through your trash to retrieve unshredded documents that contain sensitive information about you. These documents could include bank, credit card, insurance, pension, or employment records. This is why it is very important that you shred or crosscut sensitive documents before throwing them out in the trash. Identity thieves can get your information in other ways as well. If you carry your social security card in a bag or wallet, and it gets lost or stolen, then an identity thief may get to it. They may also be able to find your social security number just by looking at your employee ID or some other form of personal identification. Also be watchful when using your credit card to make purchases at retail stores. Some identity thieves will skim credit cards when they are out of your sight for more than a moment. Some identity thieves are also hackers, and they use software or the Internet as their means of retrieving your personal information. They can do this by directly hacking into your computer across an online connection, but it is more likely that they will use fraudulent emails, or a Trojan horse virus or spyware that is secretly installed on your computer. Another way is through a phishing web site, which is a site that collects your information for apparently innocuous purposes, so be wary of unknown web sites that want your credit card info and similar data. A phishing site may also download information stealing spyware into your computer as soon as you visit its page. The only way to prevent this is by raising your web browser security settings or manually disabling scripting features like Java or ActiveX. You should also protect yourself with a firewall program and anti-spyware software. To Be Continued Click Here To Read More
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