Identity Theft Increases During Busy Shopping Times

Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes of this century, and is thought to also be the largest and fastest growing white collar crime in the US. It becomes increasingly easy for identity thieves to get enough of your personal information to steal your identity especially during busy shopping times of the year.

The easiest way for a thief to steal your identity used to be via dumpster diving, an activity where the thieves would sift through people's trash to get their personal information. Just think about how often you get a pre approved credit card offer in the mail. If you have decent credit, you probably get multiple such offers each and every week. Or what about those bank statements from 5 years ago, or perhaps your credit card statements after you have paid the bill? Most people simply throw them in the trash without even ripping them up, which makes them prime property for these dumpster divers. It does not take a rocket scientist to piece even a ripped up statement back together so they have enough information to steal your identity.

For virtually ANYTHING that you discard into the trash that has your personal information on it, invest in a paper shredder. These are readily available at just about any office supply store for about $35, and the amount of potential grief this could save you is far more than the purchase price of the paper shredder.

Many people think of identity theft as being financially related, where the thieves use your identity to get money or buy products using your good credit reputation. While this is certainly the most common benefit for identity thieves, there are also others. For example, using your identity to get health care coverage or social security benefits is something gaining more visibility as time goes on. This puts an additional strain on the already skyrocketing costs of health insurance, and could also affect your health records at your doctor's office since those records are no longer accurate if they are actually treating someone else for an ailment that you do not have.

Identity theft can cause extreme situations, so do not think for a minute that while it might be an inconvenience, it is not the end of the world. Consider a case a few years ago where a teacher whose identity had been compromised was charged with prostitution. Although it took months to resolve and the teacher was eventually cleared of the bogus charge, the school district finally just let the teacher go because it was far more trouble than it was worth to continue fighting against the charge, which is something people will remember and really wonder about as time goes on.

The cost to the victim can be enormous. On average, an identity theft case costs the victim more than $92,000 in financial loss, the thief has written more than 70 checks in the victim's name, and has opened about 8 credit card accounts in the victim's name. Be aware that if you do not discover the theft within 60 days of the transaction date, some credit card companies will still hold you responsible for the charges.

Be careful with your personal information, since becoming a victim of identity theft can take months and even years to straighten out.