Identity Theft is One of the Fastest Rising Crimes
One of the fastest rising crimes in the United States and United Kingdom is Identity Theft. Considerably, identity theft is one of the most often reported crimes. Identity theft is a horrible crime which occurs about thrice every minute in America. In U.K an estimated one hundred thousand cases are committed every year.
Regrettably, identity theft is not anymore an unusual happening particularly in North America. Majority of people do not even give a thought of it. It does not matter to them whether the crime is committed or not. They will only be concerned about it if they will be victimized by the identity thief.
What is the meaning of Identity Theft?
Identity Theft or Identity Fraud is the deliberate assumption of the identity of another person, generally in order to have free access of their finances or to use it in committing a terrible crime. Identity theft is unlawful use of your personal name, date of birth, social security number together with your financial and banking information. The Identity Thief will utilize the information in applying for credit, opening bank accounts and to the extent of find a job.
Identity theft is seldom used in terrorism, illegal immigration, espionage or alters the identity of the person permanently. Identity theft can also be a way of blackmailing a person by violating the privacy of the person. The illegal activities of the thief while using the name of the victim will have serious consequences such as the loss of job or the marriage.
Victims of Identity Theft
The victims of identity theft are not solely the stable credit companies, but also who does not have much credit life for example, the students from college. They will be framed up by giving them fake credit accounts using their names.
The students are the common victims because their personal information especially for schools that will post their grades by using their Social Security Number. And sometimes students do not even bother to protect such information. They do not check seriously their financial accounts. Mostly, credit card applications are sent by mail.
Identity theft crimes come from snatching of the wallet to big time fraud rings. Identity theft can happen when somebody gets your mail, your purse is stolen, or your records in an institution are swiped. This can be easily remedied if the thief is arrested early. The banks and creditors will only ask you to pay the first $50 of deceptive charges.
However, those grave cases of deception will go on for so many years and more resources to be resolved. In view of this, there is no denying that there exists the danger of identity theft. Thus, everyone should do something so as to give the necessary protection.
Preventive Measures
There are some preventive measures for the commission of the crime. It is really not easy to keep your identity safe especially in our world wherein we find strangers who are always smiling. You do not know whether they are sincere or not. Hence, you should be aware of fraud and be very careful in sharing your personal information. Every month, make it a habit to monitor carefully your statement of accounts. You should strictly observe any unlawful activity about your credit report.
In order that your personal information and pre-approved credit offers will not be known by any unauthorized person, you should use the paper shredder.
The above mentioned measures will serve as precautions for everyone who will be possible victims of identity theft. Now if you are really serious about your identity and financial stability, then the best way to protect us from identitytheft is to get an identity theft insurance. Many companies are offering this identity theft insurance which normally costs from $25 to $60 every year.
Identity Theft Insurance is Not a Guarantee
You should bear in mind that identity theft insurance is not a guarantee which will prevent you from being a victim.Identity theft insurance will help you to recover from your plenty of losses due to identity theft.
However, your direct monetary losses resulting from identity theft are not covered by identity theft insurance. Identitytheft insurance will provide the coverage for the reclaiming of your financial identity like the expenses when making a phone call, reproducing copies; documents are mailed, taking a leave from office without pay and hiring your attorney.
Things to Consider Before You Get an Identity Theft Insurance
· Know what are the policy limits.
· Inquire if there is something deductible.
· Take note that identity theft insurance does not include direct monetary losses.
· Make some verifications on what limits apply and what are the requirements to cause the coverage, when the insurance policy covers the lost wages.
· If the insurance policy includes the legal fees, then verify what limits apply and if there is a need for the insurer to approve the legal work.
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