Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to the Federal Trade Commission, during 2003 there were 516,740 fraud complaints made to their organization. Of those, 42% were related to Identity Theft. According to those statistics Illinois ranked 32nd by state in the number of frauds reported in 2003, it ranks 7th in reports of Identity Theft. Your identity can be stolen in a number of ways. In 2003, 32% of ID thefts in Illinois were credit card related, 25% utilities, 14% bank fraud, 11% employment related, 9% government document or benefits related, 24% were various types of fraud; and 8% were attempted frauds that failed either due to consumer diligence or lender verification processes.
HOW IDENTITY THEFT OCCURS
It is made possible in a number of ways. The criminal steals your wallet or purse, they steal your mail, including your bank and credit card statements, preapproved credit card offers, telephone calling cards and tax information. They complete a change of address card and divert you mail to another location, or rummage through your trash at home or at work. They obtain your credit report by posing as your landlord, an employer, or someone else that may have a legitimate need and a legal right for the information. They get your business or personnel records at work, find personal information at your home or on the internet, or buy information from inside sources. For example: an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services, or credit.
WHO CAN BE A VICTIM?
The federal government estimates that 7-10 million Americans have been or currently are victims of ID theft.
*28% of all victims were in their 30's
*25% of all victims were between 18-29
*21% of all victims were in their 40's
*13% of all victims were in their 50's
*10% of all victims were over 60
* 3% of all victims were under 18
HOW CAN YOU MINIMIZE YOUR RISK?
* Keep personal items in a safe place at home or at work, don't leave them in the open for anyone to see.
* Don't reveal any personal information before finding out how it will be used or if it will be shared.
* Guard your mail from theft by depositing outgoing mail at the post office and by promtly removing it from the mailbox after it has been delivered.
* Do not give out personal infromation over the phone, through the mail or over the internet unless you have initiated contact or know whom you are dealing with.
* Put passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts but avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last 4 digits of you social security number, your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
* Pay attention to billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if bills do not arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address to cover their tracks.
* Purchase a cross cut shredder to shred anything with personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, birthdates, etc. With a straight cut shredder an identity thief can put your information back together in a matter of minutes.
* And limit the number of unwanted calls to your home seeking personal information by registering with the National Do Not Call Registry by either going on-line at www.donotcall.gov or call toll-free (888)382-1222. Registration is free.
*Click onto the following credit report link for your free credit report. You are entitled to a free credit report one time per year. There are 3 credit agencies on this link and it is recommended that you get a report from one agency every 4 months. DO NOT USE OTHER LINKS!!! There are other sites created to steal your information. The link at the bottom of this page is a secure link.
