Identity theft (also commonly known as ID theft) should be a major concern, especially for those living in Florida. Did you know that Florida has the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by neighboring Georgia and then California? All kinds of criminals buy or steal personal information for credit, jobs, or business ventures; every day. In fact, it has been said that every two seconds an American identity is stolen. And if you are the victim of identity theft, you stand to lose a whole lot more than just your personal information. It can leave you with lower credit scores, loss of property and you may even end up being accused of crimes committed in your own name! All of these unfortunate consequences are great reasons to be vigilant and practice safety when safeguarding your personal information.
Many people mistakenly assume that criminals need possession of their credit cards or other identification to steal their identities. However, this is not the case. In many instances, simply your name, date of birth and social security number are enough to steal your credit and identity. Some criminals only initially need to know your address and then intercept your mail to get the additional information they need. Other criminals sometimes pose as someone else in order to get your information directly from you! Advanced Private Investigator and Security does not want you to become too paranoid; we just want you to become more cautious about protecting and sharing your personal information. We advise you to only offer your information to those who need to know, after checking out that they are who they say they are!
Protection your Social Security Number
Don’t think of your social security number as a magic ticket to your identity. Think of it more like a cheat code. For example, many retailers offer easy to get credit cards. If someone knows simple information like your name and date of birth in conjunction with your social security number, all they have to do is complete a one page credit application. Depending on your credit rating and the retail store, the line of credit could be anywhere from $1000 to $100,000! And that’s just an example of a resulting monetary damage but there are many other serious consequences that can occur. Identity thieves can use a social security number to procure your medical benefits, claim unemployment and/or social security, file false tax returns and even pass their criminal charges onto you when they have run-ins with the law. Unfortunately a credit report simply will not show if an identity thief is using your medical insurance to finance costly medical procedures, creating fraudulent job history and running up criminal charges in your name. Again, monitoring your credit report is not enough!
How to Prevent Identity Theft
The best way to counter identity theft is to ensure that your social security number stays with you and doesn’t get in the hands of anyone you do not know or trust. Arguably, the easiest way to find out someone’s social security number is by going through their trash as your mail will sometimes have your number printed on it but there are also other ways people can procure it.
Advanced Private Investigator has prepared the following identity theft prevention tips:
• Destroy any documents that have your social security number printed on it; before you throw them out.
• Never give out your social security number to anyone unless you trust the organization and you know they need it (for example during a credit application). Before handing it over, it is a good idea to know what measures they take to ensure social security numbers are not recorded.
• Before supplying your social security number to anyone, ask if it will ever appear on a document they send you in the mail. Also ask the level of protection and how it is securely stored on their servers in case of a hack.
• Always avoid entering your social security number online unless you are absolutely sure you are on a secure connection and dealing with a trust worthy company.
Once you have been targeted as the victim of identity theft, you need to decide how to stop the illegal activity and how to correct the devastation that has already occurred. Hiring a professional private investigator like Advanced Private Investigator and Security can give you the answers you seek. We can tell you who to contact and how to stop most of the damaging activity that you are already aware of as well as the activity you may not currently be aware of. It is a fact that many identity theft cases go unsolved by law enforcement. Hiring a private detective to liaison with the police will indicate to the police that you are determined to solve the case. We can help determine who is behind the theft and help get the police this information so that the offender(s) can be prosecuted and will not continue victimizing you. Contact Advanced Private Investigator and Security today!
