Identity Theft
Identity theft is a criminal activity.
The only purpose of people getting involved in Identity Theft is to steal money from the person that they are impersonating. Someone who obtains a stolen credit card can pretend to be that person and use the card illegally. But Identity Theft is much more than the illegal use of a credit card or cheque book.
If you lose a wallet or handbag with credit cards, driving licences etc. then you must immediately inform your bank and get the credit cards stopped. This is important.
If you have personal items stolen you can report the fact to the police. There is a confusion about a recent government directive. The police will not investigate fraud using stolen credit cards but they will investigate theft. Although it is not clear if they will arrest someone caught in the act of using a stolen credit card!
Inside Identity Theft | Click here to get this report!
The criminal will certainly buy goods such as computers, mobile phones etc, but they will go much further than this. They will open bank accounts and department store credit card accounts in your name. They will empty your bank account(s). They will use your credit cards to their limits. You will buy anything for them that they can resell for a profit!
How can criminals pretend to be me?
The simple answer is that the criminal gets hold of some piece of personal information about you, for example your Social Security number, bank account details, etc. Starting with this information, they can rapidly build a stack of information about you. It appears that anyone can get this information from various government departments!!!
If a handbag or wallet is stolen you generally know about it or will realise fairly quickly. You almost certainly have a problem if these items are stolen. Not only do the thieves have your cheque book, credit/debit cards etc, they also have all the personal information that they need to pretend to be you.
You must respond as soon as you know that a theft has occurred. Call the police if you have been mugged or your handbag/wallet has been snatched (you may need a crime number to prove that it isn't you spending over your credit limits!). Telephone your bank, go into a branch if you are not at home. Telephone your credit card company immediately (again go into a bank to get the number). You will be surprised how much of your money that criminals can spend in a short period of time!
beware of scams
Identity theft fraud highlighted on BBC Watchdog programme.
A report on the BBC Watchdog program has identified a way to defraud people even though they think that they are keeping themselves safe.
It involves paying a deposit or some sort of surety to a third party using Western Union.
The context of the Watchdog program was for people with an interest in renting a property to pay a deposit to a third party before viewing the property. This was intended to 'ensure that only people who could afford the rental' were allowed to view it. Although this is a strange request it is not totally unreasonable.
The money had to be paid to a Western Union account in the name of a friend or family member of the person paying the deposit. There is no risk of losing the money assuming that the person paying it trusts their friend or family member!
Then a copy of the Western Union receipt is sent to the person renting the property to show them that they have the funds.
The problem is that the Western Union receipt has sufficient information on it for the fraudsters to take on the identity of the friend and to immediately take out the money and just disappear!
The BBC program showed that the money had been taken out of the account by people in Nigeria.
Of course there is no property available, it is just a scam!