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When was the last time you walked into a bank to get cash from a cashier? It has probably been a long time. This tells you how reliant we have become on plastic cards and digital communication. It also explains the presence of identity theft. Just what is identity theft? As the name suggests, it is the theft of the personal information of another. The theft would be incomplete unless the information was used for some nefarious process, and it is in many different ways. Stolen credit cards are the most common form of identity theft, right? Nope. Misused credit card accounts are the result of the swiping of the real prize. What is the real prize? Social security numbers, the gateway to your finances. Whether you realize it or not, social security numbers are the foundation of our financial society. You must have one to play. By play, I mean open credit card and bank accounts, take loans and so on. This is exactly what happens. Another area where social security numbers are being turned into criminal profits is fairly new. Many illegal immigrants are required to show valid social security numbers to hold jobs. Guess where those numbers are coming from. The reselling of social security numbers has nasty aspect to it. The income from the secondary person appears under your social security number with the IRS. Guess what happens when your tax return figures don't match theirs? A tax audit! Another area where your social security number can be misused is at the bank. The thief will open a bank account using the number. The thief then writes bad checks against the account until the bank closes it. Owning the latest mobile phone seems to be a must these days. Signing up for such phone services is simple and indentity theives are famous for doing it. The people at those kiosks in the mall just don't check very closely. When it comes to criminal endeavors, identity theft is unique. Why? Well, theives use false addresses for the accounts they open. As a result, you have no idea you are a victim. It could be happening now and you wouldn't know! Sooner or later, you will figure out that you have been a victim of identity theft. It may be when collectors call or when your ATM card doesn't work or when a credit card charge is rejected. Whatever the occasion, it will not be pleasant. Some people discount identity theft because it is not a crime causing physical pain. Obviously,they have never had it happen to them. It can take months and even years to resolve it, so take steps to prevent it.
Article Source: http://www.new.citynewslive.com
Learn why you should be concerned about identity theft at ArticlesonIdentityTheft.com.
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