One of the reported crimes in the world today is identity theft. Identity theft refers to a situation whereby someone steals personal information of another person and uses it without the owner's permission. It is a serious crime, which may cause havoc with individuals reputation, credit history, as well as finances. In most cases, it is complicated to resolve it; hence, demanding patience, money and time to resolve it (Hammond, 2003). There are many ways that an individual can protect his/her identity from being stolen.
These ways include protecting personal information, shopping in secure places, protecting passwords and pin, secure your mail, keep financial data and information private, monitor credit report, protect social security number, place an active duty alert, report any sort of identity theft attempts, as well as using internet carefully.
In addition, in case of discarded it is advisable to shred them all this will prevent Dumpster diving on your personal identification (Vacca, 2003). In general perspective, it is advisable to review all the monthly statements such as mortgage statements, bank accounts, social security statements, utilities, credit cards, tax statements, as well as a retirement account. These ways will prevent an individual from being a victim of identity theft.
The criminals use identity theft in various ways so has to achieve their personal gain. They use the stolen identity by spending using debit card and credit cards of other people to buy expensive items and sell them to make liquid cash, open credit card accounts using other peoples identity, change mailing address of your credit card, buy luxuries items using auto loans, establish wireless or phone services in your name, present your name to police in case of any arrest, use counterfeit debit cards under your name, travel using your identity, commit crime under another person's name, advertising false jobs, as well as make unworthy financial transactions (Vacca, 2003). Therefore, the criminal will use the stolen identity for personal gain at the expense of another person.
References
Hammond, R. J. (2003). Identity theft: How to protect your most valuable asset. Franklin Lakes, N.J: Career Press.
Vacca, J. R. (2003). Identity theft. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR.
