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Saturday, January 26, 2008

Identity Theft

by

Mohd Sabri Mohammad

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, victimizing over 10 million people a year and costing billions of dollars. Identity theft can happen anywhere to anyone. In line at the store, online at home or when you're buying your morning coffee. If your identity is stolen, you can spend hundreds of hours cleaning up your credit and struggling to get back your good name. That's because stolen identities are used up to 30 times, with most victims only discovering the theft after they've been turned down for a loan or contacted by a collection agency. You may already be a victim, many times over, and not even know it.

It has been reported that about 8.3 million US adults fell victim to identity theft.

Based on U.S. population age 18 and over of 222.94 million as of July 1, 2005. (http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/tables/SC-EST2005-01Res.xls (visited August 15, 2006)).

See full 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report HERE prepared for the Federal Trade Commission.

In a widely publicized account, Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Identity Theft. Ms. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the Chicago Federal Prison."

You can read her full verbal testimony HERE (item #12)

In Australia, identity theft was estimated to be worth between AUS$1billion and AUS$4 billion per annum in 2001 and in the United Kingdom the Home Office reported that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.7 billion.

There are just so many ways to steal identity without you even realizing it. Some even appear very genuine. Look at the example below taken from ITRC’s website.

Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a nonprofit, nationally respected organization dedicated exclusively to the understanding and prevention of identity theft. The ITRC provides consumer and victim support as well as public education. The ITRC also advises governmental agencies, legislators, law enforcement, and businesses about the evolving and growing problem of identity theft.

This scam poses as a message from Navy Federal Credit Union asking you to go to a website in order to receive a "message" that is in your Navy Federal Credit Union Inbox. It even has a banner taken from the Navy Federal Credit Union website.

WARNING : DO NOT CLICK ON THE BANNER of the Navy Federal Credit Union.
Example of scam on identity theft


Learn more about identity theft at:

United States Department of Justice
The President’s Task Force on Identity Theft
Federal Trade Commission

Learn more about how to secure you identity here: LifeLock






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