Look at any identity theft definition and you’ll see that there are a lot of ways in which your personal data will be accessed by unauthorized persons and misused to your detriment.
For instance, your social security number can be utilized by somebody to impersonate you and the same goes to your driver’s license numbers too. If you shop on-line and use your credit card to pay for merchandise, these sensitive details could be captured and utilized by others to pay their bills or make purchases on your account.
It isn’t just monetary loss which you could incur when you find yourself a victim of identity theft; things can get far more drastic. Consider this, if your identity is used by someone to commit a crime or fraud, you may be going through some serious legal costs and repercussions.
All of these can occur should you fail to protect your personal data in an efficient and effective manner.
Two ways in which identity theft occurs
Identity theft is commonly a complex difficulty that won’t even come to your notice for a substantial time interval after the loss has truly taken place. There are two classes of identity theft that can come up from poor data protection. One, your identity is utilized by someone else to open new accounts and enjoy the benefits for which you’re held responsible.
For example, a new bank account may be opened and cash that must be flowing into your account could also be diverted into the new, fraudulent one. This commonly happens with IRS identity theft where refund checks that should be yours are credited into an unknown account.
The thief might open credit card accounts utilizing your credentials and run up big payments that you end up having to pay for. Or the thief could sign up for companies like cellular phone service and go away you with the invoice since your name is being used to set up the connections.
The second way in which identity theft occurs is when the thief accesses your personal data, either from your pc or phone or directly, by stealing your credit card or social security card. This data is used by them to gain entry into your present accounts and profiles. Imagine, that an unauthorized person has access to your accounts. The first thing they do is change the address and contact details so that you don’t get immediate intimation of any transactions. Next, the accounts may be misused in any way, either by wiping out money balances or using the account or profile to make payments or sign up for companies and products.
It could take quite a while for you to realize that somebody apart from you is using your account for fraudulent purposes. Usually, it’s possible you’ll be utterly unaware till you start getting bills for purchases you by no means made and even notices for unpaid balances.
Identity theft has become far easier immediately because we closely depend on hand-held gadgets to hold out critical activities. Think about this, an individual who gets palms in your mobile phone additionally has access to a veritable treasure trove of personal information about you that may be misused in innumerable ways.
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