Identity Theft

Your name, date of birth, social security number, etc, are stolen and used to access your credit. Repercussions can last for years.
Growing numbers of people are finding themselves to be victims of Identity Theft. That is, their names, Social Security Account Number (SSAN), credit, credit cards, and other identifying information is being misused by criminals. This type of fraud frequently involves credit cards, both those the victim knows about and those issued without the victim's knowledge. Victims of Identity Theft may suffer little direct financial harm credit issuers and merchants are usually the ones who actually lose money or goods but damages do occur. Once your identity has been stolen, you may find your credit ruined, resulting in the inability to obtain financing that would otherwise be available. Victims often spend months writing letters and clearing up confusion over their credit. Worse yet, if a warrant is issued for the arrest of someone who has stolen your identity, your name and other identifying information may be listed as an alias of the criminal.
Protecting yourself from identity theft involves reducing but never eliminating your vulnerabilities. Your personal information might be stolen, through no fault of your own, from your bank's computer system, or from databases maintained by local, state, or federal government computers. Public records, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, or court filings, may contain enough personal information to allow someone to compromise your identity.
To reduce the risk of your personal identifiers being misused, be careful of how and where you use them. Having your SSAN pre printed on your personal checks may save you from having to write it down occasionally, but it means that everyone who sees that check now knows your name, bank, bank account number, and SSAN.
Be mindful of credit card receipts and of their disposal. One method used by identity thieves is to sift through trash looking for receipts with credit card numbers, names, and expiration dates. Those three pieces of information are usually sufficient to begin using that credit card for internet or telephone mail order purchases.
If you use a debit card to deduct purchases directly from your bank account, monitor your account on a regular, frequent basis. You don't want your first notification of misuse of your debit card to be a series of overdraft notices from your bank. Similarly, review your monthly credit card statements for unauthorized and/or unknown purchases. If you don't recall a purchase, contact your credit card company and obtain enough details to determine if it is a legitimate charge or if it is the first indicator that your card number has been stolen.
One of the most valuable steps you can take to protect your identity is to regularly review your credit report. You are entitled to one free copy each year of your credit report. If credit accounts are being opened by an identity thief, this may be your first opportunity to find out about it.