Identity is a crime where someone obtains pieces of information about another person and uses it illegally. ID thieves are using this information to make purchases, pay for medical procedures, and other things. This can get a person into incredible debt and keep them from every owning a home, getting a job, or getting a loan. Lately we have been hearing about security breaches in companies such as Home Depot and Target. Hackers get past all of the security and access credit card numbers and other personal information.
Warning Signs
- Strange withdrawals from your bank account.
- You stop getting bills or mail.
- Retailers and merchants refuse your checks.
- Debt collectors call you about debts you don't have.
- Unfamiliar accounts or credit cards on your credit report.
- Billed for medical services you haven't received.
- Your health plan rejects your legitimate medical claim because you've reached your benefits limit.
- A health plan won't cover you because your medical records show a condition you don't have.
- The IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed in your name, or that you have income from an employer you don't work for.
- You get notice that your information was compromised by a data breach at a company where you do business or have an account.
How can you prevent it?
Only keep essential documents in
your wallet. Try not to keep your social security card or old credit cards that
you wouldn’t notice were missing. Try not to keep your various PIN numbers on
you. Also don’t carry birth certificates or passports on your person, keep them
in a safety deposit box.
Make sure
you don’t allow your mail to accumulate in your mailbox. This makes it
extremely easy to steal personal information without you ever knowing. If you
are going to be gone for an extended amount of time, have someone you trust
pick up your mail for you. Also shred important documents and mail before
throwing it away. This makes it hard for thieves to recognize and use important
documents.
Your online
presence can be a treasure trove for thieves. Use creative passwords that aren’t
easy to crack. Do not use personal information as your passwords. Wipe old technologies
to make sure no personal information is left on it. Don’t click on random
emails. These can be phishing emails looking for an in to your computer.
Lastly,
always make sure you report the crime as soon as you realize what has happened.
The only way to make it stop is to report it and get it investigated as soon as
possible.
For more information on this, click here.
What to do if your identity is stolen.
- Create a in identity theft report
- Place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit report..
- Place a seven-year extended fraud alert on your credit report,
- Get free copies of your credit report,
- Ge fraudulent information removed from your credit report.
- Dispute fraudulent or inaccurate information on your credit report.
- Stop creditors and debt collectors from reporting fraudulent accounts
- Get copies of documents related to the identity theft.
- Stop a debt collector from contacting you.
For more information on this, click here.
Kids can be effected too.
Children can have their identity
stolen too. Securitymagazine.com states that 10.2% of children in the United
States have had their social security number stolen and used by someone else.
This could mean that a child already has debt before they turn 18. The child
may never know until they go to apply for a student loan or a car loan. By then
it may be too late to report it or recover their credit. The article stated
that the youngest child effected in this study was only 5 months old.
Sources
http://www.ehow.com/how_6856_prevent-identity-theft.html
Kaylee,
ReplyDeleteTeachers already face a lot of pressure to fit in all of the mandated curriculum in just 180 short days, do you have any ideas on how to teach this in the classroom? There's just so much! Also, I found this article explaining why teens are such a huge target for identity theft, I thought it was a good read!
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/community-voices/article56043740.html
Some of the topics in this unit are better taught in a life skills class. Others can be modeled in any class. Others can be part of an awareness week (although I find these of minimal value; how many minds are changed after an assembly on a topic?).
ReplyDelete