Identity+Theft

=Definition of Identity theft=

Identity theft is a form of fraud or cheating of another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name. The victim of identity theft can suffer adverse consequences if he or she is held accountable for the perpetrator's actions. Organizations and individuals who are duped or defrauded by the identity thief can also suffer adverse consequences and losses, and in those cases are also victimized.

 The term Identity theft was coined and began being used in 1964 and is actually a misnomer as it only referring to stealing a persons name, and not a true identity. A more accurate term would be identity fraud or identity cloning. Ways identities are stolen include rummaging through garbage of a victim, hacking or stealing personal information off of a victims personal computer or PDA, Memory sticks or other hardware.

=Various types of Identity Theft=

Various types of identity theft are current now, including 
 * Business/commercial identity theft
 * Criminal identity theft
 * Financial identity theft
 * Identity cloning
 * Medical identity theft

Business identity theft is using another business' name to obtain credit, Criminal Identity theft is posing as another person when being apprehended for a crime you commited, Financial identity theft is using anothers identity to obtain credit, goods and services, Identity cloning using another's information to assume his or her indentity in daily life, Medical Identity theft is using anothers identity to obtain medical care or prescription drugs. media type="youtube" key="7MtYVSGe1ME?fs=1" height="307" width="384" align="center"

=Current Examples of Identity Theft=

In 2009 there was a case of Identity theft of Todd Davis, the owner of LifeLock and identity theft protection company, was so confident in his business' abilities to care for his clients personal information he began posting his real social security number on billboards, the internet, and television. He dared people to attempt to steal his identity and they did just that, one case of this was being able to obtain a $500 loan from a bank under his name, and 87 other people have using his SSN under false names. A year later the man is still paying for making this huge mistake of giving out his SSN.

=Ways to protect yourself from Identity Theft=

Identity theft has become a major problem in recent years, costing Americans up to 52$ Billion dollars annually, but you don't need to be victimized by Identity Theft, Here are some ways to help protect yourself from Identity Theft.
 * Shred all Identifying Documents, Bank slips, Checks, Ect.
 * Shop online only on secured websites.
 * Don't fall for phishing scams, as shown in the above video.
 * Keep your computers Anti-Virus, and Anti-Spyware software up to date.
 * Keep your social security number safe and protected at all times.
 * Be aware of telemarketing scams.
 * Be careful with delicate mail containing any personal information.

=References=
 * 1) Definition Sources, "About.com", "Wikipedia".
 * 2) @http://typesofidentitytheft.com/
 * 3) Ways to protect yourself from Identity Theft, "10Spot"
 * 4) Todd Davis' story and 10 Other Bizarre Identity Theft cases, "listverse.com

__Identity Theft__
== Identity theft is one of the majority difficult crimes to be a victim of. The police are of little to no assistance, and when someone uses your credit to make a buy, the trouble of proving you are who you say your are is on you to show you didn't make the transaction. The credit that you spent years structuring is often destroyed, often right under you nose. Even after you show your innocence you must go through hundreds of hours of red tape and paper work to get your name cleared. Sometimes you are able to get your money back, but if they take all of your bank account it is unlikely you will ever see that cash again. ==

Victims: Leslie
Leslie made the mistake of keeping her Social Security card in her purse. After her purse was stolen the thief used her info to spend over $3,000 at stores. If Leslie had Identity Insurance she would have been alerted of the theft and they would not have been able to take out credit in her name.

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