Consumers Should Be Aware That Identity Theft is Low-Tech Too

08
Dec

Consumers Should Be Aware That Identity Theft is Low-Tech Too

Identity theft is no laughing matter. In 2008, almost 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft crimes, which was 22 percent higher than in 2007. What may be even more alarming is the fact that identity theft is usually not the work of a computer genius with expert hacking skills.

Approximately 43 percent of identity theft cases come from low-tech means like stolen wallets and sensitive information on important documents. This is in stark contrast to what most Americans are accustomed to when they think of identity theft: some anonymous hacker stealing their information right from their computers.

That’s not all, though. Just like it isn’t linked only to computer geniuses, recent studies have shown that identity theft is not dominated by any one group of people. Some identity theft offenders strike from the street, while others are white-collar, and a whole range in between. The only thing that really unites all of these identity thieves is a desire for money. Usually, both street-life and white-collar types are struggling to pay for more than they can afford, and they turn to identity theft to help them accomplish that.

There are a number of different ways that these identity thieves can get a hold of someone’s identity. Some ways can be as low-tech as dumpster diving, or as straightforward as bribing someone who works for a bank, mortgage company, car dealership, or state agency to provide them with the information they seek. Identity thieves also steal mail from apartment houses and businesses to find the information they need. Some even pose as fake employers putting out a job advertisement, and people desperate for a job send in their applications electronically, including dangerous information like social security numbers or account numbers in them.

Usually, identity thieves use this information to take out new credit cards, secure a bank loan, or withdraw money from existing accounts. Whichever method they choose, their actions are likely to ruin the victim’s credit, which is devastating in any economic time, but even more painful when credit is already so tight. A tragic number of identity theft victims also lose the money that was stolen, and it can take months or years to fully recover from a theft.

One of the biggest problems with respect to identity theft is that most Americans are ignorant of how identity theft can happen. It isn’t just leaving private information on the Internet for people to find, or having your computer hacked into. Any documents with your social security number, credit/debit card number, checking or savings account number, and other sensitive information can easily result in an identity theft.

It’s difficult to say why so many Americans are more worried about identity theft coming from a hidden assailant across the Web than from a missing wallet or important document, but some suspect that it’s the way identity theft is portrayed in the media. The unfortunate truth is, a story about some genius teenage hacker from halfway across the world is much more interesting than another story about someone who got his wallet stolen.

Nevertheless, it’s important to be on the lookout not just for virtual theft, but also theft in the form of documents, credit/debit cards, and more. If Americans are more alert about the different ways identity theft can occur, its prevalence can hopefully diminish over time.

Sys Guard