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FRAUD PROTECTION AGENCIES
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INFORMATION ON IDENTITY THEFT
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About Identity Theft
Fighting Back Against Identity Theft,
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC),
U.S. Government
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How To Protect Against Identity Theft
Ed Grabianowski, HowStuffWorks, Inc. (HSW)
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Identity theft
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation
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IDENTITYTHEFT.com
IdentityTheft.com
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Identity Theft and Identity Fraud
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),
U.S. Government
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Identity Theft: Protect Your Credit Score
Host Merchant Services, Inc. (HMS)
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Identity Theft & Data Breaches
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
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To Catch a Thief: Are Identity Theft Services
Worth the Cost?
Consumer Federation of America
[ March 2009 ]
(Adobe PDF file)
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Identity Theft And Your Social Security Number
SSA Publication No. 05-10064,
Electronic Leaflets,
Social Security Online,
U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA),
U.S. Government [ October 2007 ]
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Identity theft is a burgeoning problem having the potential to
adversely impact any person participating in our modern information
age. While not specifically limited to the digital environment,
online transactions and electronic record keeping have greatly
facilitated the ability of identity thieves to pilfer personal and
financial information and use that information to fabricate false
identities. With these assumed identities, identity thieves
proceed to fleece individuals and organizations of funds, products
and services, leaving in their wake a swath of devastated credit
histories and damaged reputations.
Ironically, many of the identity theft techniques used by identity thieves
to acquire information are distinctly non-electronic and
low-tech, such as rummaging through trash (dumpster diving) for
carelessly discarded printouts containing information such as account
numbers, passwords and social security numbers. More “up close
and personal” methods include using false pretenses to obtain
information directly from you (pretexting) — such as claiming to be
a representative of a financial institution or service agency with which
you do business — or outright theft of wallets, purses and portable
electronic devices.
The highly successful electronic version of pretexting, known as
“phishing,” involves sending phony emails that look like
they emanate from reputable agencies or financial institutions. Skilled
identity thieves may even set up a bogus website that looks identical to
that of your bank or brokerage. Do not think that there are limits to
which identity thieves will not go; their brazenness is
unsurpassed. I recently received several phishing emails purporting to be
from the FBI!
So ... how does one protect himself or herself from identity theft?
How do you detect identity theft and what steps should you take if the
worst happens and you discover that your identity has been stolen? A
wealth of information is contained within the websites and articles
available through links on this page and within other topics covered by
our Asset Protection theme. (See
SiteMap.) Reading some of this information
may just save your assets when the identity thieves come knocking ... or
snooping ... or emailing.
Ignorance is the identity thief’s greatest tool. Knowledge defeats
identity theft. Be knowlegeable to be safe.
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 25 June 2011.
If you are an authority on identity theft and would like to expand
on or offer correction to this article, please email us using the
Contact Us link near the top of the page.
Follow links to the right to learn more about identity theft and asset protection.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to security and consumer protection. View the
Security & Consumer Protection SiteMap
for a complete list of security and consumer protection topics.
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