Five Ways to Steal Your Identity - Common Types of Identity Theft

There are a few different types of identity theft.  They are equally bad and damaging to your good name and can affect your life in many different ways. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing in crimes today in the United States.  And unlike something stolen from your house or your car, most people do not even know that their identity has been stolen. One in four households have already been affected by identity thieves.

My daughters employer, her Identity Thief, used her social security number to open up accounts and she ended up with a bad credit report before she was 18 years old. Yes, many identity thieves are people we know and trust.

Imagine discovering one day that your identity has been compromised. What would you do? Who would you call? We see ads on television that truly express the suffering that many individuals have experienced identity theft. From people being harassed from creditors for debts they do not owe, to being arrested for crimes they did not commit, to discover the IRS wants payment for income not reported, to getting turned down for loans for homes, cars and more; how can someone protect themselves from identity thieves? Is it possible?

It is important that you understand that there is more to identity theft than just having your credit and financial information stolen. This article will focus on the five most common forms of Identity Theft.

Credit related identity theft is the most common. It happens when someone gets a hold of your credit card or credit card number.  This can wreak havoc on your credit and ruin your life.  Loans are obtained on your credit that are then not paid, resulting demand notices and eventually collections.  Once a credit card or loan is written off, it stays on your credit report for 7 years.

Character identity theft is a close second.  It is when someone adopts your identity by impersonating you.  They commit a crime as you, which causes a domino effect of warrants, arrests and time spent in jail, all for something you never committed.  Worse yet, is that once a crime is made in your name, it is hard to almost impossible to clear your name. 

Social Security Number identity theft happens when your social security number is stolen.  The thief then uses your SSN at his job and his wages are reported to the IRS as if you made the money, therefore you owe the taxes.  It can also wreak havoc on your future Social Security Benefits.  What do you do?

Medical identity theft happens when a thief is able to get medical insurance through your stolen identity.  The thief uses your insurance info to get treatment and prescriptions.  They then do not pay the co-payments, lab fees, etc.  And worse yet, you may receive bills for medical procedures that are not covered.  This can result in your health coverage being terminated and you being denied other coverage. How do you get their medical information out of your medical records.

Driver’s license identity theft occurs when a thief uses your license when committing a traffic related offense.  They do not appear in court, resulting in warrants under your name.  The next time you are stopped for something as simple as a headlight being out, you could be hauled off to jail.

Identity theft is no joke and is really upsetting when the victim eventually finds out, often too late, what has been done.  Protect yourself as best you can by only entering credit card information only secure sites, make sure to rip up anything that has your credit card number on it, and be as secure as possible with any and all of your information.

Most importantly learn more about the best ways to protect yourself from Identity Theft. There are many programs available. The best provide monitoring, restoration, legal services and insurance to help with the expenses in clearing your good name.