Forewarned Is Forearmed: Identity Theft Alerts
Identity theft is the stealing of another person's identity generally for the purpose of stealing another person's financial resources. In today's society this is often accomplished by tricking people into giving Social Security numbers, personal identification numbers, financial account numbers, etc. Or the personal information needed can be gained by sorting through people's trash or by stealing pieces of mail meant for others. In addition, there are those knowledgeable thieves who "hack" into computer databases in an effort to download the needed personal information to steal another's identity.
In an effort to counter this identity theft epidemic there are many measures that have been taken. For example, legislation has been passed that allows individuals to freely access their credit reports on an annual basis to determine if any fraudulent activity has occurred. In addition, there are services that are provided through a membership basis that contract with individuals to help monitor their credit activity. Also, there are many agencies that circulate identity theft alerts to help minimize the damage of identity theft.
Of the three, probably the most practical and empowering ways to prevent identity theft is by paying attention to identity theft alerts. Therefore, it is important to understand what an identity theft alert is and the methods that these identity theft alerts utilize.
What Are Identity Theft Alerts?
Identity theft alerts are informational pieces of correspondence that are provided to the public to make them aware of identity theft scams or methods that identity theft crooks utilize to access the personal data of others. The intent of this information is to educate individuals of the dangers of identity theft, caution people about sharing personal information and alert others to new methods that are being utilized by identity thieves.
Methods of Broadcasting Identity Theft Alerts
There are a number of ways that identity theft alerts can be disseminated to the public. One of those ways is through a local identity theft alert release from various law enforcement agencies. Often these law enforcement agencies are privy to the latest scam in which unscrupulous people try to gain personal information from others. As a public service to the community often radio stations and television stations broadcast these alerts to their audiences.
For example a theft alert notice from a law enforcement agency can include the latest scam by internet identity theft scammers posing as the IRS. The scam may include E-mails sent to unsuspecting individuals posing as the IRS and asking that individuals respond to the E-mail with their bank account number and PIN. The message may be that the fraudulent IRS E-mail wants to deposit an IRS refund amount into the account of the individual.
Another way that identity theft alerts can be made available to the public is through the Internet. Often reputable web sites will post theft alerts on their web site. These alerts are for the protection of the Internet user and are there to remind, explain and caution individuals about sharing personal information to others. Often a reputable web site can be a person's personal banking web site or web sites that have an extension of dot gov or dot org attached to them.
Specifically these identity theft alerts will talk about protecting various numbers associated with your personal identity. These numbers can include Social Security numbers, personal identification numbers (PINS), bank account numbers, etc. Also theft alerts will talk about shredding personal mail, accessing credit reports, reviewing bank statements, etc.
