Financial Identity Theft
What is "financial identity theft"?
Financial identity theft is when someone begins to open up bank accounts and credit card accounts under your name. They start to take out loans under your name, get credit cards under your name. Eventually, unfortunately, they usually default on those accounts and then they damage and soil your credit.
What kind of information does a financial identity thief want?
When it comes to financial identity theft, generally they're looking for basic information like name, address and social security number; in addition to that they really like to get hold of your credit card numbers, also too what is very valuable to them is the banks you deal with, any deeds to homes, any titles to homes that they can then go and use to refinance your existing property and then take on even bigger loans, and then they can actually default on those loans and thereby making you a victim of mortgage fraud.
What is the most common way that identity thieves steal financial information?
How do identity thieves steal information from retailers and other businesses?
When you are making a debit or credit card transaction at any retailer, that retailer is responsible or they're supposed to be responsible for protecting your information. Unfortunately, many retailers actually store that data for a period of time. Sometimes they may make it accessible to hackers if they have not properly protected their networks. Whether they have a wireless connection that's not secured, they have improperly or nonavailable firewalls, or they simply have someone on the inside that may actually be installing some type of virus or spyware that monitors all transactions, allowing hackers remote access to your information. So it's very important that when you're doing business with any type of a retailer, you check in with them to find out what type of security they have in place.
How do I know if I am a victim of financial identity theft?
When people find out they're a victim of financial identity theft, it's one of a few different ways. Either bill collectors are calling them for nonpayment of products and services that the identity theft had taken out under their name. Or when you go to apply for a loan of any kind, you're denied credit. You go to apply for a loan, for a vehicle or for a home, or even refinance, and the lender says, "We can't issue you credit because you have a half a dozen credit cards opened up under your name that haven't paid the bill." That's unfortunately when people find out their identity is compromised. Others find out their identity was compromised when they are actually arrested for crimes that they did not commit.
How can I protect myself against financial identity theft?
Really the best way to protect yourself from financial identity theft is to freeze your credit if you have the option to freeze your credit in your state. Call your local attorney general, find out if you have the option to freeze your credit. Sometimes you actually have to be a victim of identity theft to freeze your credit in your state, depending on how the law is set up, which I don't agree with that.Otherwise you may have to pay a $1. fee to freeze your credit, which I definitely think that it's worth it. Otherwise, get credit monitoring and monitor your credit 24 hours a day. In addition to that, check your credit reports at least quarterly, or at least semiannually.
