What are some of the ways my identity can be stolen?

What are some of the ways my identity can be stolen?

Robert Siciliano (Identity Theft Expert and CEO) gives expert video advice on: What are the most common kinds of low-tech identity theft?; What kind of personal information should I avoid giving out?; What are some of the ways my identity can be stolen? and more...

Identity thieves go after your information in a variety of different ways. They can steal a wallet or a pocketbook, and from there they get all the information, including credit card information, possibly social security numbers and maybe your account numbers for your bank and so on. They can break into your home or they can break into your office. An identity thief could be somebody who you know that's working for you in your home or your office. Indeed it could be a nanny, a babysitter, or it could be a contractor. They could be hacking over the Internet or they could tap into your wireless connection on your computer and from there they can access your information on your hard drive. An identity thief could call you posing as utility, posing as your bank, posing as somebody to extract data from you. It could be someone who is working at any establishment that has your information. It could be an employer, or a fellow employee that extracts that information from a computer or even a filing cabinet. An identity thief could be anyone that's working at your doctor's office, or anywhere you might have a loan such as at a bank and so on. We live in what is called a "database society", and in a database society our information is on databases all over the place. And that information, unfortunately, is accessible to anybody who has access within those organizations.