What Everyone Should Know About Identity Theft

Regularly checking your credit report and also searching for your own name on Google every once and a while is a good practice. You want to know if anything comes up related to your name or your personal information that could indicate that you've been the victim of identity theft.

If someone misuses your personal information and you don't realize it until it's too late, it can wreak havoc on your financial situation and make things very difficult for you.

The following is a guide to what everyone should know about protecting their identity.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is a broad term, referencing any situation where someone steals your information, using it without your permission. There are various types of identity theft, with each having varying effects. You can't entirely protect your information, but there are things you can do to reduce the risk of being a victim and lessen the impact if you are.

Personal information can include your Social Security number or financial account information.

Because of how we use and interact with technology and the online world, our personal information is technically always at risk. If you aren't monitoring your name, social media profiles, and credit files, you're not going to notice what's happening until there's already damage that's occurred.

If someone steals your name, address, credit card, bank account, or even medical insurance account numbers, they can buy things in your name or open new credit cards. They can open utility accounts in your name, use your health insurance to get care and steal your tax refund. They can even pretend to be you in the event they're arrested.

Identity theft is a growing issue in the United States, worsened by the pandemic. Thieves were targeting things that were specific to the pandemic, like unemployment benefits and relief checks.

The theft of benefits went up by nearly 3,000% in 2020, and the Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million identity theft complaints from consumers in 2020, an increase of 113%.

Types of Identity Theft

Some of the different types of identity theft that occur most often include:

• Credit identity theft occurs when criminals use personal information like a Social Security number or birthdate to apply for a new line of credit. The warning sign for this type of theft would be seeing a change in your credit score you didn't expect or maybe getting debt collection letters.
• Child identity theft happens when a criminal applies for credit in the name of a child. Unfortunately, with this type, it may not be uncovered until the child is applying for college loans. A warning sign can be a child getting credit card offers or receiving calls about debt collections or late payments.
• Synthetic identity theft describes a scenario when a criminal would use a collection of identity details to create a fake consumer, using a Social Security number of a child or one that's made up. The name isn't in the database of the credit bureau yet, and they might combine it with an address, applying for credit cards and loans, and sometimes making payments on them as they grow their credit limit. Then, the cards are eventually maxed out, and the criminal attempts to disappear.
• Bad actors can use a Social Security number to file a tax return and then steal your tax credit or refund. A warning sign can be an inability to e-file because someone has already filed under your Social Security number. Another warning sign might be getting an IRS letter or notice that references an activity you didn't know anything about.
• Medical identity theft refers to using someone's identity to get health care services. This can be dangerous as well as financially harmful. With this type of identity theft, doctors and hospitals could potentially get the wrong information as they're deciding on medical care for someone. You should check your insurance explanations and claims to make sure there's nothing you don't recognize.
• An account takeover is when a criminal steals your personal data, using it to access your financial accounts. They can then change the addresses or passwords associated with them so you can't access them anymore.
• Criminal identity theft is when someone gives the authorities the name or address of another person when they're arrested or during an investigation.

How Does Identity Theft Happen?

There are so many ways identity theft can occur, including:

• Losing your wallet: We associate identity theft with being something related to technology, but it doesn't have to be. If you lose your wallet or it's stolen, the thief might have access to your Social Security card and your credit cards. Some people even keep a list of passwords or codes for access in their wallets.
• Mailbox theft: A person could take your mail, or they could set it up so that your mail gets forwarded to a different address. One way to avoid this is to sign up for a service called USPS Informed Delivery. Informed Delivery sends participants an email that has images of what should be in their deliveries, so you'll know if something is missing. Make sure you remove all your mail from the box promptly as well.
• Wi-Fi: Using public Wi-Fi puts you at risk for identity theft, especially if you're shopping or banking while using it. If you are going to use public Wi-Fi, you should only do so with a virtual private network.
• Data breaches: It seems like we hear about a major data breach nearly everyday. Hackers can get into databases with sensitive information. You should assume your name and identifying information have already been affected by a data breach because they likely have.
• Phishing: While it's not a new type of cyberattack, it remains one of the most prevalent. Phishing is when a criminal tries to get you to disclose some type of personal information by sending you what looks like an official email.
• Skimming: This most often happens at ATMs or gas pumps. Skimming is when a criminal gets credit card information by putting a small device on a machine.
• Malware: If you open an attachment that you aren't sure where it's from, or you go to an infected website, it can install malicious software on your computer. Then, if the software has a keylogger, it logs all the keystrokes you make so that criminals then have your passwords and account information.

Watching for Identity Theft

One of the best things you can do to check for identity theft is to check your credit report on a regular basis.

You're entitled to a free credit report every twelve months from the major credit bureaus. There are also a variety of both free and paid credit monitoring services that will let you check it whenever you want.

When you check your credit report, make sure there aren't any accounts you don't recognize. You can sign up for monitoring as well so that you'll get a notification if your credit takes a major drop.

Other signs that your identity could be compromised include:

• You feel like you aren't getting mail and bills like you used to.
• You're getting credit card statements and bills for things you didn't buy.
• Denial of credit, despite thinking you have good or excellent credit.
• Unauthorized bank withdrawals or transactions
• Denial of your electronic tax filing
• Receiving emails from an organization that says someone recently accessed your account and it wasn't you
• Getting a bill or explanation of benefits for medical care you didn't receive

What Should You Do?

If you think you're the victim of identity theft, the primary goal is to stop or limit the damage. You should freeze your credit cards until you can report the fraud. A lot of banks have the option to lock your account via the mobile app.

You should check your different credit reports with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax and confirm any unusual activity. You can also lock or freeze your credit if you see something that looks wrong.

Identity theft is a crime, so contact law enforcement as well.

You'll want to create and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission. You might actually do this before talking to law enforcement because the FTC will provide you with the steps you need to take and the forms you'll need to file reports to dispute fraudulent charges, including police reports.

Once you are a victim of identity theft, it can take months and countless forms to get your identity back.

With the way the world interacts with technology and how often we're accessing sensitive information from a variety of devices, you should, at a minimum, be keeping an eye on your identity and financial information on a regular basis. You might consider using a paid service as well because it will proactively alert you as soon as something amiss is detected, which can go a long way to reducing the damage that might otherwise occur.