Within the United Kingdom, identity fraud has become one of
highest rating crimes to date. The UK government estimates
that each year identity fraud costs them 1.3 Billion.
Identity fraud has worked because many companies and people
in general have been convinced in some way to hand over
their items, documents or money. Identity fraud can remain
undetected for several months before anyone realizes what
has been done.

The UK has come up with an idea that is due in the year
2007. They intend to issue Identification cards that
contain information biometrically about the individual.
This information could come in the form of fingerprints or
an iris scan. Many people do not believe this will solve
the problem. No matter what the government does to protect
your identity, one thing will always remain the same. The
protection of your identity is largely your concern.

There are a few things that you can do in efforts to
prevent identity theft. This of course, is no guarantee,
but it is a great step in protecting yourself from thieves
and fraud.

When you are cleaning out your desk, do not simply throw
your personal items away. Items such as bank statements,
credit card statements, receipts and utility bills should
be destroyed. You could burn these items or obtain a
shredder. A shredder can do multiple things; it can destroy
your personal documents as well as compact discs or floppy
disks that could contain identifying information.
Additionally, some shredders will shred a credit card as
well.

Protect your credit cards just as you would your cash.
When you receive a new credit card, it should be signed by
you immediately. If you must destroy a credit card, you
should shred it by either using a shredder or cutting it
up thoroughly with scissors. If your credit card should
become stolen or lost, report it to the credit card
companies instantly, this will prevent the card from being
used. Another thing many people do not consider, is when
you are dining out, be watchful of letting your card out
of sight. One popular fraud is to simply take an imprint
or write down the numbers for use later.

Lastly, when you receive your credit card or bank
statements open and review them immediately. If you see
anything out of the ordinary upon the statements, you
should call the company right away and begin a
investigation into it. Additionally, if you should ever
notice your statement has not arrived on time, you should
make a telephone call to the company to investigate this.
It is possible that is has been routed to an address other
than your own.

Jeff Lakie is a contributing author at our website where
You can get a free Secured Loans Quote right now. Take a moment and see
for yourself.

I received an e-mail message from “Paypal” not to long ago. The e-mail stated that PayPal needed me to update and verify my security information for their database. I didn’t. One of the sentences in the e-mail read:

“Complete the necessary verification tasks within 5 days, or
your account might get temporarily suspended.”

That didn’t sound like the PayPal I’ve been doing business
with for several years. The grammar of “your account might
get temporarily suspended” raised an alarm bell. Also the
logo while quite professional looked odd.

But the obvious giveaway was knowing Paypal would never contact me at an e-mail address I never gave them. I could have become a victim of a technique called phishing. Just another form of Identity theft.

The effort criminals put into stealing your identity
staggers the imagination.

With Phishing also called brand spoofing, criminals set up phony but legitimate looking websites then spam you with e-mails like the one described above in the hopes of catching a percentage of internet users. 2003 saw identity thieves target Ebay account holders, this year it’s Paypal’s turn but any company with a database of information remains a target.

Choicepoint a veritable clearinghouse for the insurance
industry finds themselves trying to explain how identity
thieves tapped into their system to defraud 145,000
customers across the U.S. Investigators in California place
that number closer to a half a million.

The hackers apparantly used previously stolen identites to apply for and receive business licenses then bought information from ChoicePoint whose database totals 19 billion public records.

The FTC estimates that this year alone identity
theft will cost the business community 4.2 billion dollars
and 8 billon by the end of 2006.

Easy access to computers provide more chances for identity
theft but the majority of cases according to the Better
Business Bureau happen offline. Telephone scams that target
the elderly, mail fraud, or public spying known as “shoulder
surfing” contribute greatly to this epidemic.

Many banks changed their ATM’s due to criminals rigging the machines. A person uses the ATM but after putting in the pin# the machine keeps the card. Usually when the person goes to report it, the thief strikes, taking card, pin # and most
importantly the victim’s identity.

The methods of madness can include something simple like
going thru your trash (dumpster diving) or an elaborate hoax similar to the one reported by the Associated Press.

A family in the Pacific Northwest posed as tax preparers and used stolen identities to go on buying sprees across several states that included millon dollar homes and luxury vehicles. According to authorities, since the thieves stole the social security # of children as well as adults, the damage won’t be fully known until these young people start applying for credit
later on.

Law Enforcement officials believe the next step with this criminal outfit involved applying for health care positions.
Hospitals and doctor offices provide a wealth of personal
information. Perfect for Identity thieves

These methods along with old fashioned robbery show why identity theft according to the Department of Justice
maintains it’s ranking as the number one and fastest growing crime in the U.S for 5 consecutive years. Unfortunately it will probably maintain that ranking for the forseeable future.

Daryl Campbell, President of Campbell Marketing, L.L.C. is a historian, screenplay and technical writer. He loves movies, music, his wife Kay, and internet marketing. His website http://www.winthemarket.com is a guide to everything needed to grow and protect a business on-line.

What are you doing to protect yourself? Get more free information at http://digbig.com/4cmcg