Did You Know There Are 5 Areas of Identity Theft?

1. Social Security Number Theft

Social Security number (SSN) is a key component of one’s identity. The use of a victim’s SSN is maybe found in many types of identity theft, including employment, tax fraud and other types of identity theft discussed later in this article.

The result of having your SSN stolen is wages being reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), and can result in a loss of unemployment and disability benefits if the thief claims them in your name. As for Tax fraud which frequently occurs in conjunction with employment fraud, where an individual uses your Personal Identifying Information (PII) to obtain employment, and then also files taxes in your name.

2. Medical Identity Theft

The fraudulent use of an individual’s PII, SSN, or health insurance information to obtain medical goods and services, money through insurance fraud, or insurance coverage for treatments is known as Medical Identity Theft.

 This can cause numerous problems for the victims that may include: a collection account for a past due bill, medical insurance filing errors, or distorted medical records that could affect future medical treatment. This one of the more complex and problematic types of identity theft  that can occur. The reasons for these complications are mainly attributed to the lack of a central repository of medical history and the extensive privacy laws in relation to medical file

disclosure.

3. Criminal Identity Theft

This occurs when an individual who is arrested for a crime or ticketed for a violation supplies the authorities with your PII. That may include your name, address, date of birth, or SSN. The imposter may even present a fake or stolen driver’s license to law enforcement, further legitimizing the identity thief’s claim to be you. The results of this is a criminal record that is associated directly with you. Based on the original charge against the imposter, fines may be assessed, court hearings scheduled, and arrest warrants issued for you without your knowledge

4. Financial Identity Theft

This involves the unauthorized use of your PII, primarily your SSN that can result in the establishment of new credit cards, loans of any type (payday loans, auto loans, mortgage loans, etc.), and bank accounts. This may include the misuse of existing credit or debit cards, forgery of the victim’s signature on his or her stolen checks, and the creation of counterfeit checks displaying the victim’s information as well.  The unauthorized creation of these accounts leads to collection efforts against the victim.

5. Driver’s License Theft

The actual theft of the driver’s license or exposure of the driver’s license number can result in identity theft. A perpetrator could actually add his or her photo, or could simply make a counterfeit license using part or all of the data found on the original license. For example, a person is stopped for a traffic violation and he or she gives the officer your name and driver’s license number. The written violation will be associated with you, which could show up on background checks and potentially result in an arrest warrant. A driver’s license number can also be misused by someone who writes a bad check to a retailer and writes your driver’s license number on the check. This could result your own legitimate checks being rejected at retailers and other businesses.

Note: Make sure that you use an Identity Theft Company who assigns their own Licensed Investigator and don't hand you off to a third party company or send you a do it yourself packet.

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

Share on APSense

Comments