I
have to say that I never saw this coming. I feel so bad for my neighbor Steve’s
son Jeffrey. Jeff had been a happy little boy growing up in our quiet suburb of
east PA. As he grew it was apparent he was a gifted child and his scores in
school were well known and admired amongst his peers and professors. He won
several scholarly awards and got a scholarship to a great university. However,
one day after his freshman year, he went to apply for his first credit card and
a chance to start taking on even more adult responsibilities, and was flat out
rejected because of a bad credit score. How could this have happened?
- Identity theft
is perhaps the fastest growing crime in the U.S.
- Identity Thieves
will target you the more you use identification tied to credits and
electronic transfers. Especially if you do your banking and billing
online.
- Children are
increasingly becoming the targets of criminal social security identity
theft because criminals can get away with it for years before being
discovered.
It
turns out that someone connected to a criminal organization had stolen his
social security number years ago. In that time period they had opened lines of
credit under his assumed identity, and spent a lot of money, intercepting the
bills or having them sent to other P.O. boxes. These criminals didn’t bother
keeping up with payments, but did find a way to spend thousands. By the time
poor Jeff and his family found out what was going on it was too late. No amount
of gifted smarts could change the devastation this has caused for his life of
limitless potential. Now things were going to be a lot harder.
Id Theft Happens
Anywhere, Anytime
This
crime is happening all over the world, but especially here in the United
States. More and more people are not paying for things with cash, and credit
card and social security numbers are relatively easy to steal. All someone
needs to do is write this number down in order to find ways to use it. Think
about how easy it is to input a number into an online website to make
purchases. If you don’t keep track of your information it might very well fall
into the wrong hands.
Business Id Theft
Business
id theft is also increasingly becoming a problem. Employees who have access to,
but don’t protect your small business passwords, account information and other
sensitive information can be liabilities. A mistake or malicious action on
their part can ruin your business.
Above
all, if you are a parent don’t let your family become a victim to child id
theft. Children identity theft will have lasting and devastating effects so be
vigilant of your children’s secure information. For Jeff it is uncertain how
long it will be before he’s out of the woods. He’s been presented with a
difficult road to navigate.
To
learn more about identification theft and how to protect yourself and your
loved ones from this terrible crime contact Legal-yogi. For a free
consultation call 1-800-397-1755.