You probably have a credit card or two in your wallet. Such is the prevalence of the Internet today, you have probably used that credit card to buy something online. Imagine a scenario where one month you opened your credit card statement only to find thousands of dollars have been billed to it, for stuff you've never bought. You now have to convince the credit card company that you are a victim of a crime, not an irresponsible online shopper. More and more people are discovering to their horror that someone has taken their identity and committed fraud in the best case scenarios. The worst case is where the thief has committed serious crimes under your name. Identity theft is a major crime today. If your identity does get stolen, you can spend months (if not years) cleaning up the chaos the thieves have left your records both >credit and criminal in< During this time you might have to forgo any loans you need for a house, car and so on. Some people have even been mistakenly arrested for crimes committed in their name. The good news is that you can protect you identity from this new type of thieves. If your identity has already been stolen, there are things you can do to minimize the damage and start the clean up
-the thieves call your credit card company to change the billing address
-they could open new credit card accounts in your name and then run up the charges
-they could get a mobile in your name and then never pay a bill, the examples go on and on
-the issue is that the thieves can commit some kind of criminal act in your name. They could get a driver's license in your name, with their photo. They could commit all kinds of crimes, and should they get caught, give your name to the police. If they don't show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name |
