Types of Identity Theft
It's not just Financial!!
When I speak to people and give presentation on IDT, I ask them, "What is IDT?" The answers are very consistent....
"It's about credit cards and bank accounts."
Not any More!
As I mentioned, the most publicized form of IDT and the area of IDT that receives essentially 90% of attention is Financial Identity Theft.
But there's more,... much, MUCH more!!!!
Depending on you resource, some say there are only 3 areas of IDT while others identify 5 areas. Both are correct. The determination of 3 areas actually incorporated the other 2 (totaling 5) as sub areas of IDT. Both sources are now talking about a 6th area of IDT which I will address later.
Let me first list the separate areas then describe them in detail:
Types of Identity Theft
1. Drivers License
2. Social Security
3. Medical
4. Character & Criminal
5. Financial
6. Synthetic
During my descriptions, I will offer real-life stories. this way, people can associate their own lives with how IDT affected someone else's. I have found with approach, the concept of IDT is easier to understand.
Drivers License Identity Theft
Someone steals you wallet or purse, now they have your address, license number, date of birth, picture and signature. This is a lot of information for someone to have about you.
A woman had her purse stolen in 2005. She was pulled over for a routine traffic violation this spring of 2008. After the police ran her plates and license, with guns pulled, the police asked her to stop out of the car. the driver was wanted for arms charges and armed robbery.
The problem was someone had used her drivers license as identification when the crimes were committed,. Now the are on HER record. This innocent victim spent time in jail until the authorities could straighten this situation out and confirm her identity was stolen.
Read the article
"Guilty until proven innocent."
Social Security Identity Theft
Having access to someone's Social Security number can be devastating. This is the one piece of information that everybody wants and or needs to:
- Get a Credit Card
- Get a Loan
- Rent an apartment
- Apply for a job
....just a few things
Your Social Security number may be the key piece of information an identity thief needs to reek havoc and carry out their plan.....
....At Your Expense!!
The bad thing is, if someone steals your Social Security number and assumes your identity, you cannot get a new SS number. Calling the Social Security Administration is fruitless because they don't know if you're the good guy or the bad guy.
- AARP has identified that the SS number of (# of victims) deceased individuals are currently being used.
- A six-year old girl's SS number was found to be used by 10 different people or someone with 10 different identities since she was one (1) year old.
Good Housekeeping - August 2007
At this time, the federal government does not allow credit monitoring on minors under the age of 18. There are some IDT products telling you they can protect the identity of your children, in essence, these companies are doing nothing more than you can do for free... place a freeze or fraud alert on their credit report.
Medical Identity Theft
This is by far, in my opinion, the scariest, the fastest growing and the most difficult form of Identity Theft to repair. This form of IDT is also the least know or addressed by the media.
Your insurance card is like a $3 - $5 million dollar credit card.
There are two (2) types of people when it comes to medical insurance, those that have medical insurance and those that wish they had medical insurance.
Identity thieves are stealing medical insurance cards to have procedures done because they don't have their own insurance. If you don't think this possible....
Watch This Video
Here is an article from Good Housekeeping, August 07
Character & Criminal Identity Theft
Identity thieves use the information that they have stolen from you to commit crimes under your good name.
I talked about the example of the woman who had her purse stolen in 2005 under the Drivers License IDT example. This is also a case of character and criminal IDT.
Again, people using your identity to commit crimes.
Watch This Video
Financial Identity Theft
To start off with, financial IDT is actually only approximately on 26% of IDT per the FTC. Identity thieves can steal you information in more ways than you might imagine.
Steal your information by:
- using phone cameras
- skimming
- "over-the-shoulder"
- check washing
These are just a few of the more common techniques identity thieves can get your credit card or checking account numbers.
If they get their hands on the CVV code also, the problems increase exponentially.
There's a law called the Fair Credit Billing Act which is summed up as:
"...Send your letter so that is reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you. If an identity thief changed the address on your account and you didn’t receive the bill, your dispute letter still must reach the creditor within 60 days of when the creditor would have mailed the bill."
Read an article about Choicepoint
Scary Stuff!!! You can prove you were a victim of identity theft, yet you may still be liable for the charges made by the identity thief.
Synthetic Identity Theft
Synthetic IDT is a relatively new form of IDT. Esstially, here is how synthetic IDT works:
- Social Security Number from John
- Address from Karen
- Drivers License Number from Mary
= A New Identity
Did you notice, there isn't a credit card here in the mix?? This new identity can be used to get their own credit card and bank accounts. If they obtain the maiden name of someone's mother, this is also an important part to obtain credit
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As you can see, Identity theft extends far beyond credit cards and bank accounts. Without having adequate protection, without taking even basic steps to protect your identity, attempts to repair your own identity can be lengthy (50 - 600 hours) and expensive, up to $1500 or more. I don't know anyone who can afford to take this much time off work, not to mention employers being able to have their employee off for this length of time.
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