Identity Theft: Can You Prevent It?

Identity Theft: Can you prevent it? I am sorry to say that the answer to this question is no. The reason why Identity theft can not be prevented is that even if you do everything right, Don't leave mail in you mail box. Don't give your credit card to a server in a restaurant. Shred all your personal information. Don't give out personal information over the Internet.. That still won't keep you from becoming a victim.

Back 20 or 30 years ago you had more control of your information because most everything was on paper. But today we live in the computer age. All of your personal information today is stored in data bases across the country.

If you have every held a job, gone to school, opened a bank account. Applied for a loan, Gotten a drivers license, applied for a social security card, or gotten a credit card then your information is out there. And any of this information can be lost or stolen.

The privacy rights clearing house at http://privacyrights.org states that between Jan 10th 2005 and Jan 25th 2008 there were 217,586,014 records either lost or stolen

The number of identity theft victims in the year 2006 varies depending on who you talk to. Gartner.com reports that there were 15 million victims in 2006 while the Javelin Strategy & Research Survey from February 2007 puts that number at 8.4 million..

What is not disputed is that Identity Theft is the #1 white collar crime in America today. What also is not in dispute is that it isn't a matter of "if" you become a victim of Identity Theft but "when"

And when you become a victim will you be ready? A victim who tries to handle the problem themselves could spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars in lost wages and out of pocket expenses trying to fix the problem and still not be able to get it straightened out. The reason for this is because an individual does not have access to all the different data bases that they need to access to fix the problem.

There is something that your bank won't tell you. And that is there is more then just one type of Identity Theft. When we think of Identity theft we think of the financial side such as bank account and credit cards. We have all see the funny little commercials where the men speak like women and the women speak like men and we get a laugh out of those but until the day comes when you are the victim you won't know just how serious it is.

Besides financial Identity Theft there are four other types. Social Security, having your social security number stolen so that other documents can be obtained. or for illegal aliens to find work. Then there is medical Identity theft where people use your medical insurance to get free medical care. Drivers License Identity theft where a person with a suspended or revoked drivers license uses your information to get a drivers license in your name so they can use your clean driving record. And then there is character Identity theft where criminals commit crimes in your name so when they make bail they can flee and the police start chasing you.

So you will need access to all of these data bases to make sure that you have not become a victim in these other areas of Identity Theft as well.

With all that I have stated here it might seem that fixing an Identity Theft problem is a hopeless task but it is not. The key to combating Identity theft is to be proactive instead of reactive.

Instead of just sitting back and taking a wait and see attitude there are things that you can do to fight back against Identity theft before it happens to you.

Today most credit card companies will alert you when there are numerous or excessively large purchases made with your credit card so that you can be ready when you become a victim. Also don't be afraid of online banking. Don't wait for your monthly statement use your online banking account to check your account at least daily. The sooner you find out about a problem the easier it is to fix.

Do not use checks when ever possible. When you write a check your giving out all the information that someone would need to make you a victim. A check has your bank account number and bank routing number and your signature and in most cases your name, address, phone number, and drivers license number.

Subscribe to a service that not only will monitor all three credit reports but will also do Identity theft restoration when you do become a victim. That way the problem will be fixed for you instead of you having to spend your own time and money doing it yourself.

If you would like to learn more about how your can fight back against Identity theft you can check out the web site http://readytohelp.us or you can contact me here.