Everyday we read in the newspaper that millions of people all over the world are becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft is a serious crime that is punishable by law. It happens when your personal information is stolen and used without your knowledge, it is use to commit fraud, steal or use your identity to commit other crimes.
Identity theft has become a global problem that occurs every minute, and since then this has been the banking industries problem. This is because, it involves major financial losses for the financial industry, as more and more people files for fraudulent transaction. In fact, the most common form of identity theft is the credit card fraud.
The second would be bank frauds wherein thieves are able to cash in checks, secure a loan, and take all your savings, and other benefits using the information that they got from you.
To prevent this from happening to you, here are 5 ways to prevent identity theft:
#1 Take care of your mails. When paying bills through mail do not simply put them in your mail boxes where anyone ca have an access to it. Make it a habit to drop them off personally in your local post office.
#2 When paying for your purchases in the mall, do not just hand your credit card to the cashier.
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Consumers may soon have a stronger voice when it comes to data breaches. The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved two bills: the Data Breach Notification Act and the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, which, if they become law, will require businesses whose data has been compromised to inform all affected consumers of the breach – and in a timely fashion.
Currently, the majority of states have their own data breach laws in effect, but it can be difficult to enforce conflicting standards, especially when a data breach impacts residents of several different states. Also, there is no specific nationwide standard as to what type of breach event warrants consumer notification. For example, do you have to notify a person if his or her address is leaked, or only if it is something more serious, like a Social Security number?
As it stands right now, many companies do not report data breaches that occur, especially if they are smaller ones, such as an employee stealing a 20 patient list from a doctor’s office. This may not seem like a big deal – unless you happen to be one of those 20 patients.
If the Data Breach Notification Act makes it through Congress, the government will have to draft rules regarding privacy when it uses personal information it garners from outside sources. Also,
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Anyone using an open unsecured network risks exposing their data. There are many ways to see who’s connected on a wireless connection, and to gain access to their information. As more sensitive data has been wirelessly transmitt
How do you know when identity theft protection is right for you? Ask yourself a couple of questions:
1. Do you diligently check your credit score more often than the three times a year allotted by the three credit bureaus?
2. Do you know how to report your identity stolen in the case of identity fraud?
3. Are you financially stable enough to take a loss that could be as much as $500,000 or more?
Chances are you answered no to at least one of those questions. Identity fraud protection is essential for a couple of reasons. First, you would be alerted every time there is a change on your credit history. Second, if your identity is actually stolen, you will have help with reporting it to all creditors, filing a police report, and even negotiating with your creditors to solve the dilemma. Finally many reputable theft protection agencies offer insurance to help you recoup any money lost in the case of a stolen identity.
It is true that you, as the consumer, can pull your credit report up to three times per year for free at the credit bureaus. However identity theft is unfortunately running rampant in all parts of the world. This is probably because we tend to store so much information on computers.
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Fraud Drivers
There are three fraud drivers which facilitate the execution of a fraud. They are Opportunity, Incentive and Justification. Lets briefly explore them one at a time.
For fraud to occur, there must first be an opportunity for fraudsters in order to commit fraud. Depending on the type of fraud, the opportunities might exist abundantly. For example, a cashier might see the opportunity to take money from the cash register if there is no management supervision or watchful recording cameras. In the case of identity fraud, there are also many opportunities in many areas which we can spend countless hours and pages to discuss, however, consider the following example. A doctor might submit false insurance claims under a victims name if the insurance company is not confirming the nature of the rendered services with the patient. The known fact that the insurance company is not capable of detecting false insurance claims presents an opportunity for the doctor to take advantage and commit fraud.
Once an opportunity has been identified, the fraudster should consider the incentive that a particular fraud might present. Taking the doctor example above, the incentive might be thousands of dollars in additional income per month for undelivered services.
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Identity theft is getting to be a serious problem. It usually occurs when someone is using your personal information without your permission and then uses it to commit fraud or other crimes.
There are many ways for people to get your personal information and then commit identity theft, so by being aware of the different methods used, you can take steps to prevent becoming a victim. Once they get your information it is easy for them to take steps to steal your identity.
Garbage – People who are looking to commit fraudulent activity will go through the garbage to find your personal information. To prevent this type of activity, you want to shred any paper that has your personal information on it. If you are getting rid of a computer, make sure you have removed all personal data. If you do not know how to do this, take the hard drive completely apart and destroy the parts to prevent any fraudulent activity.
Skimming – Another method of identity theft is skimming your credit card number when you use it. This is done with a special machine added onto the terminal and it will store your number for use later. Most credit cards companies are good about removing charges that are not yours due fraud, but make sure you keep an eye on your statement for signs fraud. Cre
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