Some consumers have had credit card numbers and Social Security numbers stolen and used fraudulently or identity theft. By taking reasonable steps to protect your personal information, this can mitigate the chance that it may be stolen (What you should know about internet banking, 2007) by identity thieves.
Identity theft is a term used for serious crimes associated with someone uses your name, address, Social Security number, bank or credit card account number or other identifying information without your knowledge to commit fraud. This fraud may only take setting up accounts in your name and make online transactions without you knowing (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004).
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. This makes it very alarming since these thieves can use or get personal information about you. Most of the time identity thieves use your number and your good credit to apply for more credit in your name. Followed by using the credit cards and do not pay the bills. Yet you don't have any idea that someone is using your number until you are turned down for credit, or you begin to get calls from unknown creditors demanding payment for items you never bought (Identity Theft and your Social Security Number, 2006).
Credit card numbers, driver's license numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, and other personal identification can net criminals thousands of dollars in a very short period of time. Most often, identity thieves will obtain your personal identification numbers and obtain credit in your name by having credit cards, goods or services delivered to their address or mail drop. Since the bills for charges incurred are sent to the thief's address, not yours, you will be unaware that debt is mounting up in your name until the collections department tracks you down. By then your credit report will already be riddled with late payment histories and show many accounts in collections. As you can imagine the credit reporting bureaus will be reluctant to change negative credit without proof that you didn't create the bad credit. With this, it may take a lot of time and effort to clear your name and bring back your credits (McGoey, 2007).
Identity theft and credit card fraud is not uncommon; such is the nature of an online world (Credit Cards and Identity Theft - Online Fraud, 2007).
Credit Card Companies is encouraging consumers to take some simple, commonsense steps to avoid falling victim to online credit fraud or identity theft (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004):
When communicating with credit card issuers electronically, consumers should always use their issuer's secure online Web site (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004).
Be sure to have the latest anti-virus, spy ware and security updates as a safety measure (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004).
Create passwords that are easy to remember, but difficult for "outsiders" to guess. Mix letters and numbers, avoid using birthdays and Social Security numbers making it hard to predict or guess (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004). Use a different password for financial- services Websites and transactions than for other accounts. Change passwords regularly. Just as with any information used to access any other financial account, you should keep these codes secret. Your bank will tell you what to look for such as an icon of a locked padlock to ensure you're accessing your account over a secure line (What is Online Banking, 2003).
Deal only with companies that post their privacy policies on their Web site. Reputable companies should prominently display their policies before asking for credit card or other personal information (Get the Upper Hand on Credit Crime, 2004).
In addition, be sure to beware of a scam called phishing where crooks send out e-mails that might look exactly like e-mails from your bank (What is Online Banking, 2003). Phishing is a strategy used to fool people into revealing passwords and other sensitive information by posing as a legitimate source. A common example is email sent by a party claiming to be a bank stating that the addressee must take action immediately to prevent problems with their account. The email usually has a link an online form that is branded to like the organization web site. The form will usually ask for sensitive details such as passwords, tax numbers etc. (Credit Cards and Identity Theft - Online Fraud, 2007).
Phishing" is a growing Internet scam in which criminals use fraudulent e-mails and websites to retrieve personal financial information such as account numbers, passwords, or social security numbers. This confidential information is then used to steal money from your account or to run up charges on your credit cards (Einhorn, 2005).
E-mail is usually not secure. it's not a good idea to send personal information such as your Social Security number, personal identification...
Identity Theft Corp (ITC) is a new company specializing on the identity theft service. The company assists customers to monitor their credit report in order to identify any suspicious charge. The company will also provide the leg work to clean up the mess left behind because of the identity theft and assist customers to rebuild their credits. The objective of this proposal is to provide strategic planning and implementation for Identity
In one case in 2000, two-20-year-olds hacked into the Lowe's credit card mainframe from a white Pontiac Grand Prix parked outside a store, synching a single laptop to the wireless system that was meant for employees to use to locate products. The hackers, obviously to blame for the crime, played on the flaws of a computer system that should not have allowed for a security breach. While the same hackers
Spyware runs automatically without the user's knowledge and transmits vital information. Spyware can also record your keystrokes and one might end up revealing all usernames, passwords and other details to identity thieves. (Atlantic Publishing, 2008); (Schwabach, 2005) Identity thieves have also found novel ways to steal and use identities. For instance, cyber criminals recently hacked Facebook, a popular social networking site, and changed a user's page asking people to help
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