If one feels his identity is being compromised then one should immediately alert the authorities. One can gauge this by regularly checking his credit card statements, if one gets erroneous purchase bills and finds various loans approved to his name. One can even find out if someone has made access to his bank locker or for any other purpose into places where only the victim can have access. In this case the local authorities should at once be alerted, this will include the local police station and a file should be immediately opened. If the victim has any evidence to support his claim then the evidence should be provided to the police so that they can start the crack down right away.

The victim should inform his banks so that all transactions are monitored and the accounts should be frozen. One should also check with local microfinance institutes to check if and loans have been sanctioned to him. Also one should inform the credit institutes about this incident so that no further loans are sanctioned. If the credit institutes are informed then the ongoing transactions will be blocked and a mail will be sent acknowledging the request. The Federal Trade Commission should be informed immediately and a fraud alert should be issued immediately. The phone details of the victims should also be kept and all call summaries should be submitted to the local police authorities. Fraud alert forms are also available on the internet which should be filled up and submitted to the government authorities to avoid further trouble. Also these reports should be kept in copy and handed over to the banks to avoid problems regarding reopening of the accounts. The credit card details should never be shared with anybody no matter what and also the bank passwords and other important passwords should be changed from time to time to avoid hacking. When accessing the internet over unsecured connections, the personal details and passwords should never be entered. These connections are not secured and the internet data can be easily hacked into. Theft of debit or credit cards should be immediately informed to the local authorities and the cards should be immediately blocked.

Identity theft is a very serious offence and is punishable by law. The victim should resort to legal means and assist the authorities in cracking down the forgery racket. To avoid identity theft one should be extra careful. No one should give personal details to calls asking for personal information as this is totally illegal. Moreover one should be more aware of current affairs and not trust any outsider blindly with banking and credit related issues. These types of crimes can be easily averted by being a little careful and responsible. So we should be aware and be self reliant always.

It was a relief when the Better Bureau or Javelin survey showed that between the years 2003-2006 there was a fall in the percentage of identity theft. According to the United States statistics the number of identity theft adult victims in 2003 was 10.1 million, in 2005 it was 9.3 million and then in 2006 it was 8.9 million. The statistics also showed that in Texas the increase of identity theft was traumatizing as between the years 2004 and 2005 the cases increased by 700%. As per the estimation of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, within a period of six months in 2004 about 3.6 million households became a victim of identity theft.

Its not only the households are affected in all the cases, consequences have also occurred for the businesses too. The statistics of identity theft have shown that approximately it might cost a company about $90,000 or even more than that, that too in a case where a single laptop is stolen. It has also been stated that 45% of the identity theft cases are a victim of stolen laptops. 29% of the identity theft cases happened due to leakage of information by the outsourcing companies or even the third parties.

How does one know if he is a victim of identity theft? May be the fraud has made duplicates of ones drivers license and social security card. So a report of traffic violations elsewhere gives one a faint idea. Also if one gets erratic credit card statements and abnormal bills. It may be that ones credit card details have been procured by unfair means. Also sometimes illegal immigrants assume identities of a different person and again commit identity theft. Identity thefts have become more common and more cases are reported today than say 20 years ago because of the widespread use of electronic identification systems and computers. They are generally hacked on to and the desired information is obtained in a matter of minutes and a person can easily get access to personal detains and assume the identities of the victim without him even having a clue about it.

If a person thinks that his identity is being used by another person then he may take the following steps:-

• The first and foremost thing that one should do is report the matter to the police. A record is thus made available to the police.

• If you have sufficient evidence than the case may be started right away.

• The central trade commission has to be notified and supplied with relevant evidence so that they can carry out the necessary investigations.

• The financial setup of the victim has to be notified at once so that all transactions are jammed right away. This would include credit cards, the banks where the victim holds accounts. All loan requests made by the victim or the imposter will have to be cancelled right away.

• All pending transactions and current transactions have to be monitored.

• The passwords of all your personal accounts or files should be changed immediately. Because the imposter first gets hold of your net banking passwords and credit card details.

• The major credit bureaus have to be informed right away like Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Or at least one of the institutes has to be informed which on completion you shall receive a confirmatory mail.

• Other microfinance institutions should also be informed since the imposter may use your credit history to loan large sums of money which will ultimately incriminate the innocent victim.

• Other financial institutions like other banks should also be monitored to check if anybody has opened accounts with your details of have been making transactions with your stolen identity.

It is also advised that while making transactions, one should be thoroughly aware of the firm and always carry out transactions with reliable business houses only. One should never disclose bank passwords and credit card details to anyone. Any place where credit card details and bank passwords are asked should be checked with the local authorities and these extremely personal details should never be shared.

The rate of identity theft via the internet has been increasing day by day for the simple reason that the person guilty of this crime is anonymous and hence it is even more difficult to track down this faceless person. Though it is a tedious job, but as we say nothing is impossible. Since internet at present is being used by nearly every individual, hence the identity theft activities online has got encouraged. But now does not need to panic, if certain precautions are followed by the users, they can always protect their identities from these culprits and the law is always there to bring justice.

The law follows a step by step procedure for the identity theft cases in order to make sure it is given the best and valuable treatment. Hence the law has given Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the responsibility to receive the complaints of identity theft from the victims and supply them with the necessary information. The FTC then processes the case by taking references from appropriate authorities and then accordingly takes the actions needed. If a culprit or a person subject to doubt is proved guilty in the court of law, then he can be entitled to serve prison for up to thirty years along with additional penalties.

The first action one should take in on realizing that they have become a victim of identity theft, is immediately contact the police and make a report. This report should be kept safe for a lifetime. The next step is to contact all three credit agencies and ask for an extended credit alert on one’s credit report. An initial alert lasts for only a period of 90 days where as an extended alert lasts for a period of 7 years, thus extended alert is a wiser decision as one might again become a victim of identity theft.

One of the precautions that do no demand for too much of knowledge and anybody can take it up is to cancel all those credit cards that hardly or never come in use. The credit cards generally have a much lower chargeable interest rate in comparison to those of individual store cards that have a chargeable interest rate of 21% or above. When a person asks for closure of their account, he should also make sure to take all the detailed documentation as well as letter stating “account closed by consumer”.

Being more attentive towards your surrounding is the best way one can keep himself on safer grounds.

Let us look into some of the more famous identity theft scams so that we can form an idea about how the net work works and how can we prevent ourselves from being victimized.

• The Cheerleader MUM: a 30 year old mother stole the identity of her 14 year daughter and got into her school. She even joined the cheerleading team. Her fraud was ultimately discovered and she was sent to jail. Her daughter did not even have a clue as she was away with her grand parents at that time. The woman justified that she had a very disturbed and violent childhood and hence she wanted to experience school life again and even join the cheerleading team.

• Todd Davis: – The Todd Davis case was a surprisingly interesting to the point of being outright hilarious. Todd Davis was the CEO of a company which was engaged in identity theft protection. The company developed a certain program to prevent identity theft. The CEO was so confident of the system that as a marketing policy his social security number was publicly displayed on billboards and advertisements. Todd challenged that his system was foolproof but it was proved beyond doubt that it was not. Since his social security was hacked and various loans and credits were issued from his number in many financial institutions.

• Dr. Barnes case: – standard case of identity theft, what makes this case stand apart is that this particular doctor Barnes was convicted several times. He was no doctor in the first place as he did not go to any medical school. He used to impersonate other doctors and reap profits from their hard work. The real individuals were kept in the dark and were sent on holidays or spam mail was sent to them. It was said that he wanted to be a doctor but he never went close to the medical school. He had perfectly forged diplomas and medical degrees. And he has a very kind expression and good manners which made no one suspect him.

• Catch me if you can: – this is one movie we have watched many times starring Leonardo Di Caprio. But what many of us do not know that this film was based on a true story and the Frank Abagnale did actually exist. He ran havoc and assumed identities of drivers, doctors, school teachers, lawyers and even important and eminent personalities. He was so convincing in his con act that nobody could question his credentials. He forged checks, personated other people and did everything one imagined one cannot do. His case was a history and trendsetter in his world. He was ultimately caught and convicted. However he was so good in his field that his expertise was actually used by the government to catch other forgers. Thus he spent the rest of his lives trying to catch people just like his early life.

Thus acquiring knowledge the common identity theft scams will enable us to get enlightened and make ourselves aware of this imminent danger.

Since many of the identity theft cases have occurred when one is offline, it may not be possible to be 100% protected, yet one should take the following precautions in order to cut down on maximum chances of having one’s identity stolen. Study about ‘SSL security’ and ‘https’ and make use of them. Be wise enough to use a credit card details for making online purchases instead of a debit card. Sending of personal information through the email should be avoided the most. Research about the ‘phishing’ sites and gain knowledge about it as much as possible, this will help one to recognize and avoid clicking on unwanted advertisements and sites links. Lastly make sure that the computer one uses to save all the personal and important detailed information is not used by too many people.

The information about identity thefts and its protection measures may sound a little complicated and scary, but one need not worry about it. Both the directions as well as the information are simple to understand and they also explain step by step how to go about the protection procedure.

The common Identity Theft scams are discussed below:-

• Phishing mail: – phishing is the term to describe the process of sending fraudulent e-mails and trying to obtain details of a person’s bank accounts. The common format of the mail asks the recipient to click on a link to verify his bank or credit card details. The reason is attributed to regular maintenance of the bank and its accounts. One should never click on such links and provide personal details; if one receives such mails then one should immediately contact the helpline number provided in the credit card or with the bank. There are a few common steps to identify phishing mails; firstly a bank sends all its vital corresponding over mail and not via e-mail. Secondly the phishing mails are sent from e-mail I’d which does not end with the bank website. Also the links posted along with the e-mail are redirected to other sites and not to the bank website.

• Spyware: – Spyware is software or a program that is secretly downloaded to your computer as it stays hidden in some files that you download from the internet. It can change the configuration of your computer or may enable the hacker to gain access to all your personal details such as bank accounts, passwords, credit card or passport details. Thus while you are totally unaware, the hacker enjoys full access to your extremely personal and confidential details.

• Waste paper diving: – another means of identity theft is by rummaging waste paper which might contain personal information through correspondence. Thus the criminal gets hold of sensitive information which he can use to ill effects. Thus it is advisable that before throwing away documents or letter containing vital personal information one must run it through the paper shredder or if shredder is not present then definitely one should cut or tear the letters into small pieces and throw them away.

• Mailbox hunting: generally people have their letters delivered to them in the respective mailboxes, if one finds that there are evidences that the letters have been opened and resealed then one must be extra careful as identity theft may be in process. People also find important mails stolen from their mailboxes. These should be immediately reported to the proper authorities and the local police.

• Identity theft during vacations: – the vacations are a time that identity thefts are most common. When we are away on vacations news paper and letters pile up on the mail box which makes easy access for identity thieves. We must inform our neighbors to collect our mail and correspondence. Also we should update the antivirus of our computers if we are taking them out during vacation because most of the time during the vacation internet connection would be done through unsecured networks.

Thus in this note we have seen the various forms of identity thefts and also how we can avoid them. Everybody should be that extra careful and aware in order to prevent Identity Theft. If we fall victim to identity theft, then we should always cooperate with the authorities and help to crack down the racket of identity thieves and cyber criminals.

The particulars that the identity theft insurance reimburses for are lost wages, notary and registered mailing costs, phone bills, lawyer’s fees and salaries. These expenses are only recovered at the time of restoration; no one is entitled to advance reimbursement payments. People who have subscribed for the homeowner’s insurance policies must have come across the identity theft insurance policy as an add-on. It is not necessary that one has to go through the home insurance policies in order to take up an identity theft insurance policy; they are also available at single unit prices.

For coverage of worth $15,000-$25,000 the insurance policy can cost one on an average of about $25-$150 per year. Since identity theft has been increasing at an alarming rate all over the world, it becomes a little obvious that the identity theft insurance is worth the cost incurred in taking up the policy. It not only provides one a reimbursement for some of the expense but also a pece of mind, reducing the fear.

Details from credit cards are the easiest way to steal someone’s identity. One should be sensible enough to not own too many credit cards, especially when all of them don’t come into use at the same time. No one should have more then three credit cards. One can simply draw the required cash from the ATM at one time and move about with the cash instead of carrying the debit and credit cards along with him and having more chances of losing the card to unsafe hands.

When shopping at the malls try being more attentive rather than getting distracted with the surroundings. Many at times while noticing something else, one may forget and leave their credit cards on the counter and exit. Avoid giving away too much detailed information about one’s account through emails. Also when making purchases online always give details of your credit cards and not the debit cards. Debit card information increases the chances of identity theft. Hence easily making one a victim of this crime.

The culprits of identity theft are very innovative. There have been cases where standing next to a customer at a payment counter, they secretly take a picture of the credit card with the help of their cell phone cameras while the customer is handing over by the card to the cashier.