IDENTITY THEFT - What You Should Know

Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing crimes in the United  States.  It is vital for consumers to recognize that identity theft is not just a   financial crime. This crime is multi-dimensional and can include financial identity  theft (checking and/or credit card fraud), criminal identity theft,  governmental  identity theft, and medical identity theft. 

What is Identity Theft?  [Source:  U.S. Justice Dept. http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html]

The short answer is that identity theft is a  crime. Identity theft and   identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types  of crime in which someone   wrongfully obtains and uses another person's  personal data in some way that   involves fraud or deception, typically for  economic gain. This information is  intended to explain why you need to take  precautions to protect yourself from   identity theft. Unlike your fingerprints,  which are unique to you and cannot be   given to someone else for their use,  your personal data ­ especially your Social   Security number, your bank  account or credit card number, your telephone calling   card number, and other  valuable identifying data ­ can be used, if they fall   into the wrong  hands, to personally profit at your expense. In the United States   and Canada,  for example, many people have reported that unauthorized persons   have taken  funds out of their bank or financial accounts, or, in the worst   cases, taken  over their identities altogether, running up vast debts and   committing crimes  while using the victims's names. In many cases, a victim's   losses may include  not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial   additional financial  costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in   the community and  correcting erroneous information for which the criminal is   responsible. 

In one notorious case of identity theft, the  criminal, a convicted felon, not only incurred more than $100,000 of credit card  debt, obtained a federal home   loan, and bought homes, motorcycles, and  handguns in the victim's name, but   called his victim to taunt him -- saying  that he could continue to pose as the   victim for as long as he wanted because  identity theft was not a federal crime   at that time -- before filing for  bankruptcy, also in the victim's name. While the victim and his wife spent more  than four years and more than $15,000 of   their own money to restore their  credit and reputation, the criminal served a   brief sentence for making a false  statement to procure a firearm, but made no restitution to his victim for any of  the harm he had caused. This case, and   others like it, prompted Congress in  1998 to create a new federal offense of identity theft.  Read More Here

ARE YOU VULNERABLE? TAKE THE U.S. DOJ'S QUIZ ON IDENTITY THEFT AND FIND OUT CLICK HERE