Identity theft is a method of stealing someone’s identity in which an individual generates or creates a fake identity, this generally can be defined as a means to gain his or her hands on resources or procure credit. The victim of identity theft can literally experience serious consequences if they could be held as responsible for the thief’s criminal activities. Identity theft can only arise in scenarios takes place when someone can use other person’s personal identification information. To prevent such adverse scenarios from occurring, we discuss 10 aspects of identity theft below, which, if borne well in mind, can help you be smarter and staying protected from becoming a victim of this misdemeanor!
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1. IDENTITY THEFT THROUGH CHECKOUT LINES
If an individual or salesperson asks to take your card and takes long time to deduct the amount from your card and for bill payment than there is surely something wrong. They could be scanning your card for a handheld device or skimming terminal for harvesting your personal information. Due to advancement in science and technology, they can even take the front and back picture of your card with a cell phone and can swipe out cards. You have to be really aware in this regard as you may not know that they have swapped your card, Click here.
2. UNWANTED EMAILS
If you receive any email that is irrelevant to you and requires you to provide any personal information, you should instantly report this as a spam. Financial Services Companies never send such emails. Do ensure to be extremely discreet when you give out your personal financial information because if they are obtained by ill-intentioned people, they may use it to carry out a range of illicit activities in your name, and it is you who will have to bear the possibly very serious consequences for them.
3. THEFT THROUGH ONLINE GAMES
Online games, where individuals sign up to establish accounts, are a virtual method for thieves to steal personal information. The core objective of such scammers is to secure critical personal identity information. Sometimes, thieves send false emails, hoping to glean the personal information which gamers are asked to provide to able to play computer games. It would be wise, therefore, to only login through a safe and secure website.
4. THEFT THROUGH MILITARY OR ARMY INTELLIGENCE
Military men and women are frequently required to provide their personal information in various places. This makes them vulnerable and sometimes, even the prime targets for fraud. Identity thieves can also be creating a fake program and could be offering a new program for military members, but such offers are only found out to be a hoax when those entering their personal information. But the damage has already been done!
5. FRAUD THROUGH TELE MARKETING OR COLD CALLS
There is a huge possibility that one may get call from an organization or individual that could seem to be legitimate or could be calling for a profitable cause. However, such calls could be illegal or scams. If you ever find such cold callers or potential scammers, find their toll free or land line number and call them directly to verify.
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6. FALSE WIFI HOTSPOTS
While public Wi-Fi hotspots are very convenient, they do pose as a potential risk in as far as identity theft is concerned. Hackers create these hotspots to try and exploit innocent people who may be attracted by a browsing opportunity. Once you sign into a suspicious Wi-Fi hotspot, the hackers can access you device and retrieve your personal information or even personal data including username, passwords and any other important data that you’ve used online. You need to be very cautious about public Wi-Fi hotspots and avoid them if possible.
7. SYNTHETIC OR ARTIFICIAL IDENTITY THEFT
Within this form of identity theft, the identity of the thief is fictitious and also quite confusing. Scammers in this strategy amalgamate stolen identity of an individual and mix it with other fake or genuine information of another individual. It is very difficult to detect such crimes.
8. MAIL REDIRECTS
If you are receiving less email than usual or calls related to products you never requested you might be a victim of mail redirect. These kinds of schemes normally take place when a thief uses your personal information to alter your address. They redirect your mail to an address of their choice, where they can obtain your personal information and establish new accounts. Make a habit of stopping any junk mail and any suspicious request as they come to keep yourself safe from these kinds of malicious acts.
9. FRAUD THROUGH CHILDREN MANIPULATION
One of the ways through which identity theft has become quite common in today’s time is manipulation of children. The fact can’t be denied that children are attractive targets of manipulation for crooks and thieves as they can propel children through a wide variety of ways to achieve their motive. It is important that parents are always aware and monitor every activity of their children. The activities can be various. From checking utility bills to calls received from school teachers and other relevant people. Apart from that, if there is any hesitation regarding why a school teacher or anyone from the school administration needs confidential information regarding your child, you not hesitate in asking questions.
10. TECHNICAL PROWESS OF HACKERS
The fact can’t be denied that online hackers and fraudsters are expert at science and technologically and can adapt to the core requirements of these crucial things. It is even difficult for cyber security specialists to detect such frauds from occurring. According to a research by Avivah Litan of the technology firm Gartner Group, less than one in 500 identity crimes could lead to a potential arrest. That does mean that such criminals have been growing consistently and are not being caught due to their innovative strategies. Such cyber threats have evolved so quickly that police are unable to get hold of such criminals and hackers are creating new techniques year after year. The fact that such thieves are certainly creative does make it difficult to catch them. You can also check Smart Credit.
Origina Source:https://blog.smartcredit.com/2016/03/02/10-things-know-identity-theft/
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