Identy theft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Identy theft - Essay Example A high percentage of credit card companies send out checks for the purpose of paying off other cards, or to use like cash. The checks often arrive with your statements, and are sometimes sent separately. As the consumer, you do not know when they are sent. Unfortunately, some of the credit card companies do not know when they send them. The criminals can get their hands on your checks in many ways. They can be stolen right out of your mailbox. They can be misappropriated by a postal employee. They can be shanghaied with other mail from a mail truck. There are probably a hundred other methods, but you get the picture, it is easy for the criminal to get his or her grubby hands on your financial documents. The most successful approach is a proactive one. The most effective solution is to ensure the checks are not sent at all, and to this end I recommend you cancel your credit cards. If you have no credit cards, you will receive no credit card checks. At a minimum, call all of your credit card companies and ask them to stop sending the checks, they will be happy to oblige. Another approach is to have them sent only upon your request. This way you can still have the use of the checks, and you can track roughly when, and how many, are sent. You might ignore this advice, as I would have at an... The check clearing companies do not care about consumers, they do not even use the driver's license information that most proprietors verify when a check is written! If you are unlucky enough to have this happen to you, you will undoubtedly be shocked, as I was, to hear the police tell you that you are not the victim! The victims are the stores that cashed the check, or the check clearing companies, because they will eventually be the ones with actual monetary losses. These steps are just the first of many if you truly want to protect yourself. They will potentially save you; a lot of grief, time spent trying to get agencies to help, a considerable amount of money, frustration, and stress in general. For more information, check out . This site is an excellent entry point for you to educate yourself about the many aspects of identity theft. Protect yourself, be proactive, and tell everyone you know the same. Brochure Front cover: IDENTITY THEFT AN INVISIBLE CRIME Victims of identity theft usually do not even know that they have been targeted until it is to late. Identity theft can take years and a lot of money to clear up, and until it is credit is ruined and lives are destroyed. As with other crimes we cannot completely control if we are victims, but we can be aware how criminals obtain our private information, how to reduce the risk of being a victim and some helpful information on what to do after the crime is committed. Inside How Does Our Private Information Fall Into The Wrong Hands Stealing records from their employer, Bribing an employee who has access to these records, or Hacking into the organization's computers. Rummage through your trash Obtain