Entries Tagged 'Identity Theft' ↓

Hello! Have't seen you 'round here before! You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed so as to keep up to date with money saving tips and product reviews, or you may wish to view the main Mungo Money website for UK Credit Cards, Personal Loans and Savings Accounts. Thanks for visiting!

Speak to anyone who has been through an incident of identity fraud and you will come to know the perils of it. Banks now have dedicated help lines to deal with this issue which shows just how serious it is. Someone might end up spending your money, ruining your line of credit and make the money disappear from the bank and you might come to know about it when it is too late. If you do not want this to happen to you…here are some tips which come in real handy:

Be safe with your paperwork. Don’t throw them without destroying them completely. Use a shredding machine if you have to. File all your important papers and don’t leave personal details in a public location. Internet has become a hunting ground for id thieves and you should be careful on unsecured sites as well as giving out personal details to tele-callers. A regular credit health check also lets you recognize an identity theft in progress. Last but not the least; you can enroll with the Cifas if you want additional protection from identity theft.

Many cards also offer free protection against identity theft and that is something you should definitely sign up for. Other modes of protection against identity theft are to get a card which provides high value identity theft. Capital One and Barclays both have a card in that category. Choosing a card matters in this case as you need to look at all their benefits including debt shift, the volume of spending and the potential to earn back cash rewards.

Keeping too many cards (for various reasons that you would like) leaves you vulnerable in many directions and might make identity theft difficult to track. Each card that you possess should be with an objective and the one with the identity theft coverage should be the one which is well balanced as well. At the end of the day, there are just so many steps which you can take on identity theft protection. Careful usage of credit cards with authorized vendors and not leaving personal data in multiple locations help reduce the chances of identity theft. If you suspect any kind of discrepancy, then you should be quick in taking action before the money starts leaving your bank. Another thing which you need to keep in mind…read the fine print relating to identity fraud coverage to make sure it does not have caveats which might result in generalized coverage only.

According to reports, corporate identity theft cost UK businesses up to £50,000,000 last year.

Believe it or not, identity thieves are now posing as company directors so as to order goods in bulk and never have to pay for them; leaving the suppliers high and dry.

Some identity criminals are even so bold as to pose as the owner of an organisation so as to retrieve the company’s credit rating. If it’s good then the criminal goes to work ordering as many items as possible from as many trusting suppliers. If, on the other hand, the company credit is bad, the criminal will not begin his illegal game knowing that trying to make orders for a company with a poor credit history is more trouble than it’s worth.

A company who has become victim of a corporate identity theft may only find out long after the rouge has bled them dry.

Security and trust are very important aspects in corporate ethics code. Corporate identity theft seems to have broken the barriers of these ethical bounds.

Whether your business is in the UK or in any other part of the globe, avoid falling victim to corporate identity theft. There are some simple precautions that you can take to ensure corporate identity theft does not taint your company’s good name.

First, check with the government agency handling company registrations to see if your company’s registered office is accurate.

You can also sign up to a proof service in order to pre-empt the thief. If your business is in UK, you can request that any future notifications of change in business address must be authorised by several people within the company and must be done in person.

Shred all documents containing sensitive company information. All businesses should have confidential waste bins. The contents of which can either be destroyed in house or taken care of by and trusted, external, third party.

Do not let the tentacles of corporate identity theft get into your company. Keep your information safe and secure.

Identity theft is considered a huge problem in our society and is now more prevalent than cheque forgery or paper hanging.

Individuals who are new to using the internet are the most likely targets of identity theft as this new online world frequently requires users to valid their details in order to receive certain bits of information.

In an effort to reduce online identity theft, Mungo Money has compiled a short list of tips to prevent you from becoming a victim of ID theft online:

1.Make a disposable email address

Yahoo and hotmail are some of the free accounts where you can make you own disposable email. Both of these are robust email systems in their own right but can also add that extra layer of privacy for your as an email user.

2.Cover up your internet identity

Avoid using your real name (and other information such as your date of birth) when creating usernames on forums, email systems and news groups.

3.Use a unique password

Don’t use easy to discover information for passwords. Try to come up with 2 or 3 different passwords that you can use on a number of online systems. This sounds like it might be hard o remember but by continuing to use 2 or 3 hard to guess passwords you will be protecting yourself in the long term.

4.Use tough passwords

When thinking of a suitable password, replace a letter or two with a number. This can make your password, even if someone overhears your saying it, impossible to crack. E.g. if you wanted to use MungoMoney as a password, replace the o’s with zeros and the e’s with threes. Like so Mung0M0n3y

5.Change your passwords

You must change you passwords at least every 6 months or if you want, you can have it changed every year. If you think your passwords have been exposed, change them for your protection.

Choosing two or three password upfront will allow you to cycle them on a regular basis, helping you to prevent unauthorised access to your online accounts.

6.Make use of a credit card rather than a debit card

Most UK Credit Cards now insure against online fraud, helping you to keep your money safe online.

7. Never open an email inviting you to update your records.

These are known as phishing emails and trick you into entering your secure information into a fraudulent system. Delete them immediately.

Best of luck!

Many criminals are now exploiting our naivety and are obtaining confidential information, such as bank account numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, and birth certificates etc in order to rob us blind!

Criminals can gather our secure information from a number of sources. Some use the internet, asking us to reconfirm our bank details online. Others use the telephone to impersonate our bank or building society, once again asking us to confirm our secure information over the telephone. Criminals can also obtain much of our personal data directly from our rubbish bins as a large percentage of the population continue to discard important bills and statements without shredding them first.

At the present time, police are cautious when it comes to criminal identity theft. This offense is often difficult to prosecute and the offender difficult to track down. Moreover, financial records and reports are not easily cleared of this fraudulent spending which can cause future headaches when applying for credit, home mortgages and even jobs

The real trouble with identity theft is that the burden of proof lies on the victim. The victim must have enough information and data in order to clear up the mess once the ID thief has gone. Not only that, if the imposter had committed a serious offense, the clear-up process can take years.

If you ever found out that someone is using your identity:

1. Act quickly. Talk to the companies involved (usually banks) to report the misuse of an account in your name. Contact other institutions to put a temporary hold on your account. Although they may not be affected now, by freezing them you can be sure that flags will be raised should an ID thief try to use them.

2. Report this offence to your local police who, more likely than not, will put you in touch with their national Identity Theft Team.

Do not let somebody damage your reputation. Take the essential precautions to protect yourself from criminal identification theft.

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America. In 2002, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that 43% of all fraud complaints they received were identity theft cases. By 2003, identity theft cases and incidents have already reached 10 million!

One in five families are affected by identity theft.

Each crime is estimated to cost an average of $500 and 30 hours of work (per victim) to resolve once the theft has occured.

All of us know the importance of credit report in our lives. Our credit report show us a breakdown of our credit spending over the past few years, including:

- Current and past credit status
- Total number of open and closed accounts
- If the balances of our accounts are current or overdue
- Credit inquires that we use when applying for a credit card or loan
- Credit card debt and payment history
- Credit score.

Your credit score is a number ranging from 330 to 830. The higher the number assigned to you, the better your credit is. It increases the chance of you obtaining a loan or credit account.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are major credit bureaus collect, maintain, and distribute our credit information; although you can also get a free Credit Report Rating from Zopa Loans.

Your credit report is a great indicator as to whether you have been a victim of identity theft.

Identity theft is a criminal act wherein our personal financial information, supposed to be confidential, is obtained through illegal means and used for unauthorized purchases and transactions.

The most common forms of identity theft are the credit card fraud and bank fraud.

There are many things which can be done by you to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.

The information from our credit report reflects our credit and consumer habits.

Verifying and frequently checking your credit report is a good means to make sure no one has obtained your identity.

Carefully examine your credit report looking specifically for the section dealing with inquiries against the report. Each time you apply for a credit card or personal loan a record is kept on your credit report. If there are records on your report that you do not recognise or an unusually high number of requests in a short period of time then you need to start asking why.

Contact the financial institutions listed and enquire as to when the loan or credit card application was process. If you think that this was not you, tell them immediately both over the telephone and in writing.

Be alert and always take the issue of identity theft as a serious threat to our good name. Make sure that your personal and financial information never get into the wrong hands.

Identity theft occurs once an ID thief assumes another persons identity by using confidential information supposed to be known exclusively by the victim. The thief will commit fraud using the person’s name and important confidential information without the victim ever knowing about such transactions.

When the ID victim finally finds out about the crime committed, the thief is often long gone, leaving behind behind a ruined reputation, and a paper trail of ruined credit, debts.

Sometimes the implications of identity theft can cause the wrongful arrest of the victim. This is because, unbeknownst to the victim, the ID thief can run up large debts and steal property.

It is an alarming occurrence and usually, the victims would suffer the implications of the crime for years to come.

One of the hardest hit by identity theft crimes are the banks. Bank identity theft has been around long before there were credit card, social security, internet identity thefts.

Bank identity theft occurrences vary. Some cases involve a thief continuously withdrawing large amounts of cash from a bank account others instances include thieves applying for bank loans.

Armed with the personal information of another person, an identity thief can obtain a driver’s license. He/she can open new lines of credit and even apply for a mortgage.

Bank identity theft is a nightmare for millions of people who have become victims of such crime.

You can avoid being a victim of bank identity theft by identifying red flags that may indicate

Here are several red flags that indicate you may be a victim of identity theft:

1. You receive bills or phone calls regarding a credit card account you did not open.

2. There are notice charges, which you did not authorize on your credit card statement

3. No bills and credit card statements arrive on the days you expect them.

4. Unauthorized transfers or withdrawals appear on your bank statements.

5. You receive notifications from collection agency about accounts you never opened.

6. You receive phone calls or notices from businesses about merchandise you did not buy.

Be vigilant and monitor your bank statements each month for unusual activity.

Most people are now aware of identity theft and the danger it can bring to their lives

Identity theft is a malicious and vicious crime and everyone using a financial product such as a credit card or loan should now about it and how to prevent it.

There are many websites throughout the Internet developed to give you needed information, data and updates regarding identity theft. These websites try to inform the reader all there is to know about identity thieves, how they operate, when and where they attack and what they usually do to carry out their malicious plans.

Articles concerning identity thefts also give an account on how to prevent being victimized by identity thieves. There are also articles about the laws being passed against identity theft.

Identity theft is a crime being committed by malicious and ingenious criminals. This crime takes on plenty of forms and can be carried out in a number of ways.

Unlike fingerprints, which are solely yours and cannot be stolen by others,your personal data like bank account or credit card numbers, telephone number, and other valuable identifying data can easily be stolen and used by identity theft criminals. If valuable data of yours fall into wrong hands, you can become an id theft victim.

IF thieves often target your rubbish bin, looking fo discarded letters from banks and building societies that will contain some important information.

Here are other areas where identity theft can occur:

- medical transactions
- bank transactions
- mails and e-mails
- credit card transactions
- internet transactions

Over the coming weeks Money Talks will look at identity theft in more detail so that you can prevent i from happening to you.