An Unseen Threat: How Your Identity Is At Risk

Forget about global terrorism, rising gun violence and global warfare and start thinking hard about a new, more powerful, least anticipated and an invisible threat that is striking fear in the heart of ordinary North Americans. No, we are not referring to a viral infection; we are talking about data leaks and identity theft. Right about now you may be saying “data leaks? Who cares about data leaks or identity theft? Are you kidding me?” go ahead and ignore the threat of data leaks, though your ignorance will most certainly end up being responsible for the demise of your identity. Though, if you are willing to understand how identity theft works, then you need to first understand the basics of ID theft. An ID thief’s objectives is simple, steal your identity and then steal all your money, many thieves have end up doing just that and manage to get away, costing Americans billions of dollars every year.

What experts have to say about ID THEFT?

One day you wake up, you check your bank account by logging in; you are shocked to discover that your bank account is empty, what happened there? You can clearly recall that you had $10,000 available in your checking account, then where did your money go? In modern times ID thieves can steal your ID digitally, so you’ll never find out about it, unless you check your bank statement or credit card statement. The following facts are the opinions of experts who deal with ID theft related cases.

• According to the various law enforcement agencies, identity theft is a crime that is nearly impossible to stop, for the reason, crooks that steal identities are impossible to find and track down.
• According to secret service-Identity theft division, twenty years ago, ID thieves would steal your money by physically stealing your wallet or purse, today it’s all done through hacking into computers and searching for information related to personal and private documents.

Quick facts about Identity theft and identity thieves

According to experts, the following is a list of some shocking facts related to ID theft, though they may sound disturbing, it’s important to remember these facts in the back of your mind:

• Someone in America has their identity stolen every four minutes.
• If you end up becoming a victim of identity theft, it can take several years to clear your name.
• You can have a criminal record without ever finding out about it, as criminals can easily reprint your ID and use it as their own.
• You can have debt collectors sent after you, if your credit card numbers had been stolen and overcharged without you ever finding out.
• Your identity is most likely stolen by hackers and then sold on the internet via chat rooms.
• Stolen laptops are the primary source of obtaining personal information on someone’s identity.

What you can do to protect your Identity.

According to experts you can take small steps to secure your Identity, doing so, you’ll ensure you don’t become another statistic of identity theft.

• First of all protect your private data on your computer with data fortification software such as Folder Lock.
• Shred all your personal documents before discarding them.
• Cut up all cancelled credit cards.
• Never disclose your personal information to anyone.
• Always shop at trusted websites such as Amazon and Ebay.
• Avoid using your credit card for online payment, instead try to use Pay Pal, it is considered a safer method of paying.