Identity Theft

Imagine this: Your phone rings and you answer it, perhaps expecting the call to be from your child, explaining why they need to stay out past curfew, or a friend just calling to say hi. Instead, it’s a collection agency accusing you of owing money on a credit card that you don’t have. Naturally, you become indignant and deny that you have any such account. The collection agency is insistent and starts threatening to take action against you. Does that scenario sound far fetched to you? Guess what? It isn’t.

Identity theft has affected over 9 million people during 2005. This statistic was just for the United States alone. The affects caused by it are devastating for the victims, because usually they take care to pay their bills on time to protect their credit rating. Identity theft can instantly change an excellent credit rating to one on that is so low, they may not be able to attain credit again for years, perhaps even a decade.

You would think that it would be simple to sort it out with the credit companies, by just calling them and letting them know it wasn’t you. Unfortunately, the credit card companies have no way of verifying if it was you or not and are not going to be easily persuaded by your protestations. As far as they’re concerned, somebody using your name has attained credit and they want their money back. All you have in your defense is your word and since there is no one else for them to go after, they may decide to just focus on you.

Even if you do finally manage to prove it wasn’t you who obtained and used the credit, this information may not be removed from your credit report right away. It could take months of constant requests to the credit companies to remove it. This can also affect your standing with your legitimate creditors. They run periodic checks on your credit report to see if you are paying your other creditors on time. If they see that you have defaulted on accounts, they can lower your credit line or cancel the card entirely.

This is why it’s important to protect your identity. You can do this by not carrying your social security card in your wallet. Your social security number is needed to apply for credit and once the thieves have it, they will not hesitate to use it.

Never put your driver’s license in a wallet that has a plastic window. Many people do this so that they don’t have to take the license out of the wallet when showing their ID to store attendants. The person behind you could also be watching and memorizing your information.

Shred all of your credit card bills, so that people who look through your garbage can’t attain any of your information. By taking a few simple steps, you can protect yourself from identity theft.