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By Sills, December 30, 2009 8:32 PM

It starts with a sign – a sudden drop in your checking account balance. A call from a debt collector about a cell phone service plan or credit card you never signed up for.

The first sign that you’ve been a victim of identity fraud is always unsettling. But for many people, that first sign is just the beginning. Depending on the skills and determination of the thief, and the length of time it happens, the damage could be much greater. On average, victims of identity theft spend 500 hours and more than $3,000 repairing the damage.*

The mental and emotional stress can be significant as well. The creditors and debt collectors you have to deal with aren’t concerned with the fact that your identity was stolen, they are focused on getting their money back.

Dealing with identity theft is never easy. Knowing what to expect is the first step toward being prepared.

Damaged Credit

The most common effect of identity theft is damaged credit.The thief runs up numerous charges in your name, doesn’t pay the bill, and your credit suffers. When you apply for a credit card, a mortgage, a new apartment, etc. you have a major strike against you.

Cost to Repair Damage

Erasing fraudulent charges and correcting your credit record takes time – and money. The average victim spends 500 hours and $3,000 undoing the damage from identity theft.

Financial Loss

One of the most devastating effects of financial identity theft is when the money you’ve worked hard to save suddenly goes missing — the work of thieves who got your ATM card or checking account information. Bank policies vary as to how much they will replace, but for many victims, this money is gone forever.

Medical Benefits & Health Coverage

If someone seeks treatment with your health insurance information, the thief’s treatments could show up on your record, be taken out of your benefits, and even disqualify you from new health insurance. And most dangerous of all, if the thief’s medical history is confused with yours, your own medical care could be jeopardized.

Criminal Record

If an identity thief gives your name and personal information when he or she is arrested, the crime goes on your record. Some victims of identity theft have even discovered they’re wanted in states they’ve never visited. The negative consequences range from legal fees or jail time to problems getting a job because of convictions on your record.

Social Security Benefits

If a thief gets your Social Security number, they can begin collecting your benefits or take a job using your name, leaving you liable for their taxes. Fixing this can take years of wrangling with government bureaucracy.

TrustedID has an effective proactive solution to identity theft prevention that has been recognized and praised by The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Identity Theft Resource Center and The New York Times. Our subscribers enjoy our spyware protection for their computers, fraud flag placements, junk mail reduction, medical record, personal and financial data scanning, free annual credit reports and our $1,000,000 service warranty.

As Featured In:

New Years Resolution #1: Protect Yourself from Identity Theft with TrustedID!

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By Sills, December 30, 2009 8:20 PM

Jewelry, electronics, your car – in the past, if a thief wanted to rob you they stole your valuable possessions. But in today’s information-based world, there’s something even more valuable that thieves can take from you: your identity.

Armed with personal information such as your Social Security number, credit card number, name, and address, an identity thief can drain your bank accounts and commit fraud in your name. It is possible that you won’t find out you are a victim until the thief is long gone.

More than 15 million people become victims of identity theft every year. An identity is stolen every two seconds in the United States – the fastest growing crime in the U.S. for the past four years.

How Identity Theft Happens

Your identity is one of your most valuable possessions. Your Social Security number, bank account numbers, and personal information are all a thief needs to commit identity theft.

How do thieves get your personal information? They use every trick in the book – and they’re constantly coming up with new ways.

Mailbox Raiding & Dumpster Diving

Mail from banks, institutions, and even new credit card offers contain valuable personal information which identity thieves can use to drain accounts and open new credit cards in your name. They get the information by stealing mail right out of your mailbox, or as in the case of dumpster diving, out of the trash after it has been thrown out.

Phishing

If you’ve ever received an email from a “bank” or other financial institution asking for account information, thieves could have been phishing for your identity. (The word is derived from “fishing,” because the emails are like bait.) Clicking on their link will send you to a site that looks the same as the actual institution, but actually belongs to the thief. When you enter your information, the thief has won.

Vishing

A combination of the words “voice” and “phishing,” vishing is like phishing, except the thieves use the phone instead of email. They may leave a message pretending to be your bank or some other company. When you call back, they’ll take your personal information.

Medical Benefits Fraud

Increasingly, thieves have started seeking treatment using another person’s name and medical insurance information. They can get it by stealing your wallet or hacking into a doctor’s or hospital’s computer system.

Spyware

Spyware is a malicious computer program that installs itself on your PC and then allows thieves to record your personal information – like a credit card number, password, or Social Security number.

Skimming

Skimming is a way for a thief to get your ATM or credit card information by installing their own card reader on an ATM machine. When you pass your card through the skimming device, it records your card information.

Corporate Data Breach

Trusted businesses, like your employer, your local bank, and other organizations have a great deal of your personal information stored on their computers. Thieves can gain access to this information by hacking into the network, by posing as a business partner, or after an employee loses a computer, disk or box of files.

Are you on Facebook and MySpace?

Social Networking Sites

Identity thieves are using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace® to find out your personal information. They use the information they find on the site to pretend to be someone they’re not and coax other information out of you – like your Social Security number.

Child Identity Theft

Child identity theft works the same way as it does for adults: the thief acquires a child’s personal information, and then creates fraudulent accounts in their name. But because children usually don’t have financial accounts until they are older, no one may find out about the theft for many years, allowing the problems to be greatly compounded.

Senior Identity Theft

Seniors are particularly vulnerable to identity theft, because most have significant accumulated wealth, and are often unable to monitor their accounts carefully. Many are also less knowledgeable about technology, and more trusting of strangers and marketers, increasing their vulnerability.

Student Identity Theft

College students are another high-risk group. School registration days and frequent unsolicited offers for new credit cards provide many opportunities to share personal information and Social Security numbers. Combine that with frequent address changes and unforwarded mail and it’s a group ripe for picking by identity thieves.