Identity theft is all over the news these days for being one of the fastest-growing forms of crime in the United States as well as worldwide. It has been estimated that more than ten million Americans become victims of identity fraud every year. One of the scariest aspects of this heinous crime is that you may not even realize that someone has pretended to be you until it's too late. What if you apply for a new credit card, bank loan or home mortgage, only to be denied because of a serious problem with your credit that you know you didn't cause? Not only will it frustrate you that you can't have the car or house you want when you want it, but you will probably feel very upset that someone has stolen your personal information in order to get at your money.
How do people commit identity fraud? They might memorize your bank PIN while looking over your shoulder, steal your wallet or eavesdrop on a conversation in order to hear your Social Security number or other personally sensitive information. They might go through your trash and copy your name, address, phone number and other information. No matter how they steal your identity, these unscrupulous thieves can take large sums of money from you in an amazingly quick manner. Before you have time to react, the identity thief might have already tried to change account numbers or cause other serious financial problems for you.
Obviously, identity theft is not your fault, and you shouldn't have to pay for the damages someone causes by trying to steal your identity. However, even after justice has been served, your credit report may take a long time to clean up. It's better to prepare yourself now to prevent identity theft. That way, you won't have to spend a great amount of time, energy and perhaps even money to reverse the harmful effects of identity fraud.
Once you find out that you have suffered identity fraud, immediately contact the fraud departments of Equifax, Experian and Trans Union (the three major U.S. credit bureaus) and have them place a fraud alert on your credit file. Call the police and file a complaint of identity theft with the Federal Trade Commission. Get out there and fix the problem now, before it's too late!