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The realization that identity theft was a real problem was brought to my attention when the son of a close friend went to purchase a car. When he applied for the car loan he was told that he had a credit problem and his loan request was denied. This was a complete surprise to him. As far as he knew his credit record was outstanding. He discovered he was a victim of identity theft! Identity Theft
After telling them that it was not me, I was told that most likely, I'd become a victim of identity theft. That had only been something that I had heard of happening to other people, but never thought that I'd be a victim of identity theft as well. The gentleman told me that I would not be held liable for the charges and told me that they would be investigating. I was then asked if I wanted to press charges. Of course I did! I wasn't going to be a victim of identity theft and let someone get away with it! I asked a bunch of questions about what had been purchased, where it was shipped to and if they would be able to find out who the thief was. All of the purchases were of office supplies or textbooks, leading me to believe that it was a college student. Even more suspicious was that the billing address was a P.O. Box. He would not reveal an address to me. Apparently, he thought that it was confidential information. Well, my credit card information had been confidential and the intruder violated that. However, I was not getting the address so I could not seek revenge for being a victim of identity theft. I never found out if they found the individual who deemed it necessary to buy things at my expense. I hope that they did. Since then, I have become a lot more aware of identity theft. I've cancelled any credit cards that I no longer use. I check my credit report several times a year to see if there is any suspicious activity that I didn't authorize. I shred all of my mail. Identity theft is much more common these days and criminals are getting better at it. It is easy to use someone's credit card in most department stores because the clerks don't ask for ID's. On the back of my cards, I've written "ask for ID" just in case someone is responsible enough to check. Be much more aware of things that are going on. Don't allow yourself to become a victim of identity theft. But in addition to being a direct victim of identity theft, I was more recently an indirect victim of identity theft as well. I have a website where I sell a software product for $47 and I recently received a letter from the bank sayng that someone who had purchased the product was claiming that the purchase was fraudlent and they would be reversing the sale. Upon investigation, it turns out that the person making the fraudlent claim was a victim of identity theft. An identity thief had made charges totaling over $900 to his card in one day. The charge for my product was one of the least expensive charges made. So, yes, he certainly was justified in getting his money restored. However, that left me with the loss. I was out the product and had now lost the payment for the product. So identity theft leaves a train of victims, not just the person whose identity was stolen. Learn how to reduce your chances of becoming an identity theft victim by reading the articles on this site as well as more detailed information and then take action to reduce your risk. The above is only a snippet to read the full article, click here!
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Site MenuMore ArticlesMy friend, who unfortunately discovered that he was a victim of identity theft, soon found that correcting the record was a major hassle. The lesson he learned was that it is better to prevent identity theft then to try and correct the record later. So with that mind, I present this information to you so that hopefully you will not become another identity theft victim. We often take our liberties for granted. What you know life to be can suddenly change if you've been a victim of identity theft. While you've been busy with your day-to-day life someone could have stolen your personal information and racked up debts or committed fraud - all with your name on it. What happens then can be anything from being denied employment, credit or even being arrested for a crime you didn't commit. Identity theft is that serious. Victims of identity theft can spend years paying back debts or fighting to restore their credit as well as their reputation. Finding out you are a victim of identity theft can be frightening and a source of anxiety even after you've resolved the issue. Don't be complacent, learn about identity theft and what you can do to lessen your changes of becoming another identity theft victim. |
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year ago, a representative from a credit card company called me. Luckily, I picked up the phone even though the caller ID showed an 800 number. I normally ignore those calls. This representative was from a credit card company that I rarely have contact with. I have a credit card through them but never use it. I carry it around for emergency purposes only. So, when this gentleman contacted me, I was a bit confused. He had proceeded to ask me if I had used my credit card lately and if I had traveled out of state within the past two weeks. After answering "no" to both of those questions, he told me that he was contacting me to let me know that my card had been used to make some major purchases online two weeks ago. I was being contacted because my card had never been used and then suddenly the balance skyrocketed to over $2,000. It seemed suspicious to them.