Postmortem Identity Theft

Identity theft is very common in todays' world. It is very easy for almost anyone to get all kinds of information about you- either on the
Internet, by calling and tricking you into disclosing information, or even from mail you might leave in your vehicle or home. A different kind of identity theft has been going on for many, many decades.

This is postmortem identity theft. That's right, people can steal your identity even after you die. This can have disastrous consequences on your surviving family members when and if it is discovered.

How could something like this happen at all? Well, all it takes is an identity thief to read the obituaries and find someone who matches either what they look like or what their clients are looking for.

Once you have a name and birthday, all you have to do is go to city hall and get a death certificate. Social security numbers actually remain valid for a number of years after death due to paperwork pileup and overall population. This enables the use of that social security number for a long time with no worries.

The problems with postmortem identity theft arise when creditors notice this person is amassing a lot of debt. There will be a lot of confusion between family members and creditors as they try to sort this all out.

If there are inheritances, the creditors may try to get paid from that lump of money before any family members receive their share. This is very unfair but that's exactly what the identity thief wants.

By the time all this has happened, odds are the thief has moved on to another victim. To protect yourself, make sure to notify the Social Security Administration as well as all creditors and consumer reporting companies.
If they know this person is deceased, they won't issue credit cards and notify you immediately if that social security number gets used. Read more...

Recovering From Identity Theft

Identity theft is often in the media. Someone gets another person's personal information, ruins their credit, steals all the money from their bank account, and really ruins that person's life for years.

Most media topics cover the financial and law enforcement aspects but what about the fear and pain that person goes through. This can be emotionally devastating and may lead to thoughts of suicide in extreme cases.

Imagine if you have been saving a little bit each month for years to finally be able to purchase something you have always wanted. You are working very hard for this reward and you deserve it.

One day you wake up and your bank account is empty and the bills start coming in the mail. The sense of helplessness and loss would be terrible.

You may never know who did this to you. Where did they even get the information? From far away or from your own home? The ability to trust others will be hard to get back for a while and you may need serious help to recover from what has happened.

There are many different places that can help you recover financially and emotionally from identity theft. Of course the first step is always to call the police and often they will refer you to a counseling service that can be very beneficial.

Don't just dismiss this and throw the business card in the trash. The stress that can build up may eventually become overwhelming so by talking to a counselor about the entire event and developing a plan of action for the future can really stabilize you.

Supportive friends and family are also very important to have around. It could take many months to sort out the financial areas of identity theft but much longer for the emotional scars to heal. Read more...

Identity Theft Victims

Everyone has heard about identity theft and what happens to the victims. Who are the victims though? How did they even get into that terrible situation?
Most of us naturally assume this could never happen to us because, let's face it, we live pretty boring lives. Why would anyone want to be us right?

It is this thinking that puts everyone at risk.

The usual goal of the average identity thief is to get cool stuff. They might be unskilled in a trade and make just enough money to skim by in life and decide they will risk jail time in the pursuit of living good for even just a little while.

Many identity thefts get solved because the thieves aren't terribly good at it, or they learned how to do it from some other criminal.
Most stores in the US have some type of surveillance so once the thief maxes out a credit card, they are tracked down within a couple of months. They might enjoy their new Playstation 3 for a while but in the end, they will spend a long time in jail.

So how do you know if you are prime victim? Identity thieves look for easy targets. If they wanted to put effort into something, they'd have a real job.
Thieves look for average people that wouldn't expect it to happen to them. The elderly are prime targets for identity theft. Many elderly people don't have many friends and love to talk to just about anyone.

On the phone or even in person, someone can offer to help them with finances or pretend they won a contest or inheritance and if the person is trusting and believes the con artist, they might give out their personal information.

Not just elderly people do this. You may know someone or even be someone who is naturally trusting of other people. Educate yourself and loved ones on how these thieves operate and you will be a lot safer. Read more...

Identity Theft With Social Security Numbers

One of the most damaging types of identity theft is more common than you think. Do you make sure you don't have your social security card in your wallet or purse?
Do you shred every document you have with your social security number on it after you don't need it anymore? Not many people do.

I'm sure in my garbage right now are papers with my social on them. This number alone allows people to amass huge debts with your name on them.
This might sound like it would take a lot of work but just call a phone company and ask them what they need to open a new account. They need an address, social security number, name, and birthday.

All it takes is someone to call you up, confirm your social security number and say you won some type of prize. People get really excited and will offer all kinds of information.

Name and birthday are always just spit right out. Now, someone just ordered a modem, phone, cable, and every single accessory a phone company offers and you are the one responsible for the bill.

Sure, this can easily lead to an arrest but often, these thieves only rent a room somewhere until they get all this stuff and leave.

Depending on the motivation and intelligence of the identity thief, they can create complete identities to get illegal immigrants across the border, rent homes, get utilities, and even get legal employment all pretending to be you.

It could take months or even years to realize there is someone out there screwing with your life. The end result could be devastating. Imagine the IRS thinking you have 3 homes even if they are rentals and nowhere near the income to pay for them.
The IRS would take a very close interest in your life and nobody likes that.
Read more...

Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft is often overlooked on television and newspapers but is growing extremely rapidly. People are unable to get medical coverage easily and desperate times can drive many people to take very desperate measures.

Unless you have a medical condition, you could keep your insurance card in your wallet or purse and rarely ever use it. You might not even notice if it happened to disappear.

When medical identity theft occurs, you may never even know it happened until it's way too late. The complications it can cause can threaten the life of you or your loved ones.

Blood types can be changed, diagnoses you never actually got can be put into your records and much more very scary things could happen.

Imagine getting into an accident and losing a lot of blood not realizing an identity theft had occurred and now your records show your blood type as A instead of B.

If you get a pint of the wrong type, serious problems or death may occur. You also may end up with extremely high medical bills. If someone bills your insurance for a broken leg, you may be responsible for much of the bill.

Repairing medical identity theft errors can be a very long and complicated process. If someone got treatment somewhere, that information may be shared all around the country.

Even if you change it, it could take a very long time to correct everywhere and that puts you at great risk in case of an accident.

To prevent all of this, keep detailed records of your medical bills and insurance statements. Read more...

Simple Tips To Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft is a growing concern for many people. Spotlighted often on the news and shows like Dateline, identity theft is a very scary subject and can cause the victim all kinds of emotional pain and financial trouble.

Identity theft can occur in numerous ways such as by someone using your social security number, checks, credit cards, drivers license and much more.

Luckily, there are many easy tips you can use to keep yourself more secure. By no means will they be completely effective but they can make you less likely to be a random victim.

Documents are the biggest problem for most people. From bank statements to medical bills, you get mail constantly that is full of your personal information.

You'd think in this computer-centric world, they could finally put a stop to all of these paper bills and documents and just send you everything electronically but that's not going to happen yet.

Until it does, make sure you shred everything that has your personal information on it. This can be a daunting task to do by hand so an electric shredder is the best way to go.

The shredded paper is great for rodent bedding if you have children with small pets or want a pet.

In addition to documents, there are many things that should be common knowledge but can be overlooked. Never carry your checkbook, birth certificate, or social security card in your wallet or purse.

Checks are absolutely horrible.

They not only have your personal information, they have your bank account number and routing number right there. Some people even put their social security number right on the check!!

DO NOT do that. A little common sense and knowledge can go a long way in protecting you from identity theft. Read more...

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is when a criminal acquires and uses someones personal information and then uses that information to, in a sense, become that person for a while.

The most common uses of identity theft are credit card and check fraud. Some other uses that can occur are illegal immigration, blackmail, crime or just attacking an individual for revenge.

Identity theft can really destroy someones life for months or even years. The most common result is destruction of credit.

People often get credit cards and open bank accounts in the victims name and buy all kinds of expensive merchandise they can either keep or sell for cash.

In extreme cases, loans can be taken out for thousands of dollars and the identity thief can simply disappear. Luckily, a photo identification is necessary for high priced transactions and loans most of the time.

Credit isn't the only thing that can be destroyed by identity theft. Many times, criminals will use your personal information to get a drivers license because they are wanted or plan to commit many crimes very soon.

If these criminals rent a car that is used in a crime, guess who is the first suspect? That's right, its YOU. By the time you even realize this has happened, your name and picture might be all over the news.

This can annihilate your good name in your community or even the entire country. Even when it is proved you had absolutely nothing to do with the crime, people will still associate you with that particular event. Read more...