What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft occurs when someone other than you uses your good name, credit history or assets for their personal gain. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime and strikes millions of Americans each year. There are four different types of identity theft crimes.
Credit card fraud makes up two-thirds of all identity theft crimes and has the highest probability of happening, but also has the lowest severity. The cardholder has to clean up the event, but they have virtually zero liability if reported in a timely fashion. However, it is the other one-third of identity theft events that we need to be concerned about. It is the financial, criminal, and the cloning identity theft events that have a lower probability of happening, but a much higher severity when they do.
When a more severe identity theft event occurs, an identity theft thief is able to make financial transactions using your good name and credit history. They can obtain new credit and loans in your name leaving you both responsible and the victim. They also commit crimes using your name, and in this case you will be assumed guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Or, the identity theft thief will become you and live as you in another part of the country until they are detected or until they mess up your good name and credit history that your name has no usable value to them any more.
While we have been dealing with this problem for sometime, society is fighting a losing battle. The rate at which peoples' identities are being stolen has increased every year until 2004 when it appears to have leveled off at about 10 million victims per year. While Congress is trying to address identity theft crimes, it is providing too little too late.
Everyone is a potential target of identity theft. It is a crime that does not discriminate. If you have a name, with a social security number, you could be a victim. Age, race, sex or financial background doesn't matter to the identity thief. However, the better your credit history, the more valuable your name is to the identity thief. Therefore, each individual consumer must take matters into their own hands to protect their identity.
The Identity Theft program was designed to help do just that. We want our subscribers and their family members to learn what identity theft is and how to minimize the risk of becoming an identity theft victim.
As a kid growing up in a major metropolitan city, like Chicago or New York, you learn to become "street smart," meaning you know what to do, where to go, and how to avoid trouble. Trouble is out there and sometimes it can't be avoided, you become "street smart" and learn how to minimize it and deal with it. Well, identity theft is similar. Identity theft is a crime that cannot be prevented, but you can learn how to minimize it and deal with it. In less than 30 minutes per month, the Identity Theft program will educate our subscribers and their family on the "what," "why", and the "how to" minimize the risks associated with becoming an identity theft victim, thereby teaching them to Become..."Identity Theft."
The Identity Theft program can reduce your risk of becoming an identity theft victim by simply educating you on the threats and exposures and by providing pre- cautionary measures that you can implement to reduce your risk of becoming a victim. It is extremely important for individuals to learn to manage their personal information in our new technology-driven world.