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Sunday, March 6, 2011

How to cure identity theft?

Identity theft is becoming the biggest crime throughout the world. Identity theft occurs when a person steals the personal information of any other person and misuses it for his own purposes. The advent of technology and cyber world is also increasing this crime every day. On internet it is easier to access personal information. The rapid increase in the usage of credit cards and ATM cards is another reason of this identity theft.

No doubt every person finds it easy to do transactions and shopping online. It seems convenient but it is risky too. When a person puts his personal information on websites, it becomes easier for the hackers to get access on your information.

These criminals can use your credit information for many crimes without you being aware.

The reason for the increase of this crime is that any person who possesses credit cards or even social security number can be a potential victim of this theft. This is considered dangerous because a person is unaware of this damage until the criminal’s game is over.

There are many ways that can make this identity theft possible. If you are in habit of putting your personal information on internet, you can be the most probable victim of this crime. If you loose your wallet with your important information or if the personal documents are stolen, you can be a victim. Your personal information can be stolen if you leave them unlocked at home or in office.

Sometimes the use of credit cards in utility store can be dangerous. Frequent use of ATM card can also be the cause of leakage of your personal information. Do not ever tell proudly the amount you are carrying in your bank accounts. Your bank mailing address should be the one where you are available all the time.

The hard fact behind this crime is that there exists no single solution to completely neglect this theft. One can minimize the risk but still there is a probability of falling into that category. One needs to be aware of all the cases and options to minimize the risk.

You need to be very careful while using your credit card. If you are not using them frequently, you can have a regular check on your credit reports. This will give you detailed information of all the transactions and billing and you may know if anyone else is using your credit card. There exist some steps which you may take if you found out someone else misusing your card.

The first thing you must do soon after figuring out some suspicious activity is to contact a fraud department. They will start a fraud alert on your credit and you will be notified at every single activity with your credit card. Like if the fraud tries to open a new account with your name, or he would try to change the billing address.

You must also file a complaint with FTC that will help the agency understand the problem in detail. Identity theft and the problems that victims face on such circumstances. This will be able to help in formulating better solutions to the increasing identity theft problem. Awareness is the key to preventing identity theft. Being responsible for protecting how we divulge our personal information can help greatly in making us avoid being unwilling victims.

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