The Impact of Identity Theft

Do you know where your identity is most vulnerable and what identity thieves are after when they steal it? The impact of identity theft can last for months if not years and things go downhill pretty fast from there. When fraudsters have you locked on their scope, they will use any means necessary to access very personal information like your credit card or
bank account numbers and passwords, your social security number, your phone, name, address, even utility account numbers, insurance numbers, etc.

Fraudsters know how to exploit critical pieces of your personal information and once they rain their attack on you, not only will they drain your bank accounts, better still, go on a shopping spree, consequently, drive your finances off a very steep cliff, thanks to your easy credit card access.

Did you know that an identity thief can access your accounts and only make small credit or debit charges that are difficult for you to notice then make one big payday charge later consequently, damage your credit score and leave you with debts to pay? They can even file claims against your insurance policies, which as you know, is a formal, paid coverage or
compensation against financial loss.

There are numerous types of identity theft as they are dangerous especially when criminals only want access to your personal information for their own benefit. Anyone can become a victim of cybercrime, which is why it is imperative that you are familiar with the common types of identity thefts so that you can protect yourself against them;

  1. Social Security Number (SSN) Identity Theft – Being the most valuable
    government-based identity asset you can possess, hackers can use it to either to steal property and money, forge fraudulent documents like passports or open credit card accounts and sell them to undocumented workers or they can steal your SSN to
    access opportunities and services available only to social security holders.
  2. Synthetic Identity Theft – Hackers use your SSN together with fake credentials including addresses, names, birth dates and other details to create new identities so that they can either build credit score, open new credit card accounts, access other financial services even apply for employment.
  3. Tax Identity Theft – Cyber criminals will use your name and SSN to create fraudulent tax refund claims, and once they submit them to IRS, it can have you sweating bullets because this not only inhibits your ability to access legitimate tax refunds, but it can also result in loss of funds.
  4. Criminal Identity Theft – This happens when a person commits a crime using a fraudulent ID with your name and other personal details.

These are but a few ways that your personal information can be targeted and used fraudulently but to protect yourself, start practicing safe online habits, get an identity monitoring services from reputable identity protection agencies, most importantly, contact a credit restoration company who will help repair any negative information that may impact your overall credit score.

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