Reprinted Articles

There are plenty of things that you could own. Some may have been bought, others given to you, and still other passed along from generation to generation.

They may have a monetary value or they could be more sentimental. Things like pictures or other heirlooms are hard to put a price on, but they can be invaluable to people who know their history.

Of course, the problem with owning something is that it could be stolen. Or it could even be lost due to something like fire, flood, or some other natural cause. And naturally, there are plenty of thieves out there who would steal your possessions if given the chance.

One of the most personal things that can be stolen from you is your identity. Identity theft is becoming more and more of a problem, and the first step in preventing it is to understand what it is.

Just What Is Identity Theft, Anyway?

In order to be aware of identity theft, provide protection and prosecute those who steal another’s identity, it is important to define identity theft. Identity theft is that action or actions taken by another for the purpose of misrepresenting themselves as that individual in order to commit fraudulent acts. Those fraudulent acts can include the illegal accessing of that person’s financial accounts or committing acts of crime. Those acts of crime could include creating new credit cards accounts, obtaining a loan, etc.

One of the most common impacts of identity theft is financial loss of some sort. Identity theft can affect your finances and credit rating when the thieves are able to access your bank accounts, credit cards and other private information.

In addition, if not addressed quickly, an identity theft victim will have to deal with damage perpetuated on their good name. Often this damage is reflected in credit ratings, possible criminal activity, employment interviews, etc. Although the victim is innocent, often it takes months or even years for the devastating effects of the identity theft to be cleared.

How Identity Theft Happens

Identity theft often occurs when critical, personal pieces of information are somehow obtained by an identity thief.

These pieces of critical information are generally identification numbers or data that only the owner of that information is privy to. Some of those numbers could be social security numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, a mother’s maiden name, date of birth, etc.

These numbers can be obtained fraudulently by thieves who pose as representatives of service or financial companies in order to obtain these highly sensitive numbers. It is important for the reader to understand that under no circumstances should they give out these sensitive numbers to individuals who ask for them.

Often a company is very clear that they will never ask for these sensitive numbers unless the customer has initiated the call. In addition, often a company will only ask for the last four numbers of a person’s 9 digit social security number.

Identify thieves can also obtain this information by going through your trash or stealing your wallet or purse. It’s important to shred all paperwork that contain important information before you throw it out.

Last 5 posts by Paul Wilcox

• How To Recovery From A Virus Attack - July 17th, 2008
• Fighting Viruses On Your Computer - July 15th, 2008
• Taking Steps To Protect Yourself From Identity Theft - June 20th, 2008
• How To Spot Common Spam Scams - June 17th, 2008
• What Can You Do To Help Stop The Spread Of Viruses? - June 17th, 2008

Tags: Computer Security