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IDENTITY THEFT
Name
COM/220
Date
instructor
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IDENTITY THEFT
By Jennifer Cayce
Many people are affected by identity theft every day in the United States. The average person that is more likely to have their identity or personal information stolen is someone with a good credit history and a good income. Thieves can range from cleaning people who retrieve their information from wastebaskets and trash cans to employees of good standing who are associated with banks or financial institutions. Anyone can have their credit stolen and some may not even know they have been taken advantage of for months and in some cases even years. Americans need to understand why it is important not to be a victim of identity theft. People need to learn tactics to avoid their identity being stolen and discover how to hold companies liable if these fraudulent actions occur.
It doesn’t take much to ruin your credit. All it takes to ruin your good name and credit report is for a thief to get a hold of your name and social security number. Once they have this information they can begin getting their own credit in your name and sometimes they can have your mail diverted to them without you ever knowing. Once the thief has your name and social security number it is easier for them to retrieve more information like, your date of birth, mother’s maiden name, employer, occupation and credit history. Cade Metz (2007) stated,
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“More than 7 million people are victims of identity theft each year — or nearly 20,000 thefts a day — according to Gartner Research and Harris Interactive. Many thefts occur because of casual mistakes in the offline world: handing a credit card to the wrong person or scribbling your Social Security number on a sheet of paper someone can find.” (para 1)
Always keep your personal information safe. People need to be alert and watch for the different types of signs if you feel that your identity could be in jeopardy. Everyone...