Password Protection Required
Identity thefts are far more complex in nature compared to normal burglaries. A burglar is satisfied with an empty house to loot but an identity thief gets his information piece by piece.
Protection from Scammers
Mortgage scams these days are second only to Identity thefts and frauds. There are many people out there who make a living out of scamming people. Scammers first get hold of a victim and then they do all they can to ensure that they get your cash and identity and leave before you realize that something is wrong.
Observe Safety While Shopping Online
Whether you are getting a new laptop shipped from a different country or are feeling a bit lazy and decide to shop from home, the Internet makes it all possible. This vast network of computers and information has made life very easy not only for food, travel and education but also for shopping.
A History of Credit Identity Theft
Credit identity theft is a growing concern among all Americans who have a social security number and at least own a credit card. The media has shocked us over the last few years with cases of American banks leaking massive amounts of sensitive information on customers. Con artists don’t only steal your credit card details, but can get your complete identity.
Dumpster diving is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Criminals will dig through the trash cans around corporate buildings but also in residential areas, in search for personal information. Therefore, the need of owning a document shredder becomes obvious. But dumpster diving is one of the least creative methods of credit identity theft, probably next to blatantly stealing your wallet or purse. Over the last decade, criminals have become more and more inventive.
A common scam, quite “popular” in the late nineties, was email phishing. Allegedly invented by a Russian scammer, this method of credit identity theft involved sending a specially crafted email appearing to be from a popular online service, like Paypal or eBay, asking the dully account owners to log in and “verify” their account details. Upon clicking on a link in that email, you would have been directed to a page perfectly resembling the service, with a similar URL in the address bar, which was at first capturing your login and password. Afterwards, you were prompted a form that was asking for your credit card number, expiration date and CVV2 code.
Later on, credit identity theft artists got smarter. Specially crafted POS devices, or skimmers placed on top of the card slot on an ATM, together with someone looking over your shoulder or a well placed camera enabled them to get your credit card details and PIN number. Credit card cloning devices are publicly available these days—you can get one for around $600 on eBay—and everything was a breeze. Your credit card would be maxed out the very next day.
Nowadays really awkward credit identity theft cases have been reported. People show up at your doorstep dressed as police officers and ask for your IDs or tamper with your landline so that any outgoing call goes to one of their cell phones. Signing up with an identity theft service and reporting anything that looks fishy pays up these days.