Identity theft has increased significantly in recent years and is now one of the fastest growing crimes of this century. Last year, more than nine million cases of identity theft were reported in the United States alone. As technology grows, so do the methods that this type of thief can use and so does the potential that you may become a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft is not restricted to just credit cards or ATM cards. A thief who steals your information can use your identity in a variety of different ways. For example, someone could get utility services in your name. If this is done in a different state, chances are that it would not be questioned until you discover it or unless that person defaults on utility payments. But by that time, at least 30 days or more, the thief has long since moved on to another victim and another state.
Another way that a thief can use your identity is to purchase a cell phone. You may already know that airtime minutes that go over the plan’s limit are extremely expensive, and international cell phone rates are almost outrageous. A thief can literally run up hundreds and even thousands of dollars on one month’s cell phone bill.
Your stolen identity can also be used for membership or paid internet sites, like pornography. These are also expensive charges and since the website can’t verify that it’s actually you using the card, they will attribute those charges to you and the issuing creditor will require payment.
Many identity thieves use your identity to open or access fraudulent checking accounts. They will then go ahead and write checks that have amounts more than the balance in the accounts. Now you can be charged with not only the overdraft fee, but all the expensive fees that come with them. Writing bad checks is against the law in many states, so you could even be subject to prosecution.
If a thief has successfully stolen your identity and has managed to use your account for a period of time, they may even go so far as to file for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attributed to your name will last for 7 to 10 years on your credit report and severely hamper you from obtaining credit for a long time to come.
It’s very important to take every precaution possible to protect your identity. You only get one life, and you get one identity, so protect it and make sure that it only belongs to you.
