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.
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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...