Statistics indicate that approximately 10 million Americans were victims of some form of Identity Theft. It is a crime committed by an individual that acquires personal information for financial gain. But, this crime does not just occur when personal information is obtained by a thief stealing your credit card, social security card or other documents containing vital information.

While Cyber Imposters will create profiles to ruin an individual’s reputation or credibility, the modern growing trend of Identity Theft is called Phishing. Identity thieves will use methods via the Internet; sending fake emails to their potential victims. These emails are fraudulently representing a financial institution or company and request personal information such as your name, passwords, credit card, bank account, PIN, social security, and driver’s license numbers. They normally do not contain the proper salutation such as, Dear Mr. or Ms. and may present the company’s logo with their solicitation. Some of these emails may request that you open an attachment and log into a site. These attachments may contain virus’s that will put your account at risk and harm your computer.  

This crime not only affects adults; children are at risk as well and will never know that they have been a victim of identity theft until they are older and apply for credit; in which case the problem is severely enhanced.

Identity theft may vary from corporate to diving into your trash, from financial to medical, child to senior, vishing to phishing, and from spyware to skimming; all methods used to gain access to your finances.    

There are precautions you can take to stop identity theft before it occurs:  

* Never provide personal vital information unless you are sure and      

  know that they are a trusted source.

* Keep your numbers and passwords confidential.

* Shred all documents that contain personal information.

* Do not provide personal information over the phone unless you are

  certain of who you are speaking with.

* Be sure you and your family request free annual Credit Reports and check

  them thoroughly. 

* Do not carry your social security card on your person. Keep it in a

  safe secure place.

* Do not place personal information on the Internet.

* Always be mindful of who you are purchasing from.

* Check your bank and credit card statements on a regular basis.

In the event that you are a victim of Identity Theft:

* Document anything you deem suspicious.

* Contact your financial institutions.

* Contact at least one of the 3 major credit bureaus.

* Go to your local police department and file a report.

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