Identity Theft
Identity theft is the illegal use of another person’s personally identifying information—such as a name, social insurance number or credit card number—without the person’s permission. Identity theft may take the form of a stranger renting an apartment, obtaining a credit card, purchasing merchandise or even establishing a telephone account in your name without your knowledge or permission.
Most victims of identity theft are not able to detect the crime until they review their credit report or credit card statement and notice charges they did not make. In other instances, they may even be contacted by a debt collector seeking payment for debts owed. Identity theft is a serious crime. Some victims may find themselves spending a lot of money and time trying to repair the damage done to their credit record through the illegal use of their name and information.
Spotlight on Identity Theft
How Identity Theft is Committed
Identity theft is an ongoing problem in the United States and Canada. Although it is sometimes difficult to believe it could happen to you, one in five people will be a victim of identity theft in their lives. Identity theft can be pulled off through the mail, in person, or over the Internet and ... Continue Reading »
How Identity Theft is Committed
Identity theft is an ongoing problem in the United States and Canada. Although it is sometimes difficult to believe it could happen to you, one in five people will be a victim of identity theft in their...
Identity Fraud in Canada
Discover a few of the different types of identity theft and identity fraud that currently pose a threat in Canada and get some helpful suggestions for protecting your identity. This video was produced b...
Avoiding Identity Theft Online
Keeping your identity safe is a matter of keeping track of your own actions online, and making sure you do not leave vital information available for others to use. This is not to say that online purchas...
About Identity Theft
Some of the adverse effects of identity theft include losing out on job opportunities, or even having your loan applications for housing, education or cars denied. This may be due to the negative information that appears on the credit report due to identity theft. Sometimes identity theft can be serious enough so as to lead to the victim being arrested for a crime they have not committed.
Identity thieves get hold of your information in various ways including dumpster diving which is going through your trash in search of bills or other documents which have your personal information. Identity thieves also employ skimming whereby they steal credit or debit card numbers through the use of a special storage device while processing your card. Phishing is another method of identity theft whereby the thieves pretend to be financial institutions or companies who send you spam or pop up emails in the hopes that you will reveal your personal information.
In the event that you fall victim to identity theft, you should file an identity theft report which is a police report that details the specifics of the identity theft. An identity theft report entitles the victim to certain legal rights once it is provided to the credit reporting agencies or to companies where the illegal use of the information took place. An identity theft report is useful in assisting you to prevent identity theft in future, as it may be used to permanently block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report. It may further aid in your protection from identity theft by preventing such debts from reappearing on your credit report.