Essay About Identity Theft

694 Words3 Pages

6 Important Things you have to Know about Identity Theft

Today the news continues to report data breaches that have leaked thousands of people’s personal credit information across the dark web. In the past we only heard of a few cases about identity theft and how it ruined a person’s life. However, today this happens to countless number of people daily. Cyber criminals now use sophisticated new ways to attack personal and business networks. To avoid becoming the next victim it’s important to understand the 6 warning signs.

1. Identity theft is no joke.

Today, it is easy for a criminal to wreak havoc on your personal life. According to George Milne, a professor of marketing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, more people are looking over your shoulder today than ever before. Everyday cyber criminals scan social media networks looking for personal information and their next victim. However, you don’t need to invest in a pricey monitoring service or lose sleep, but you do need to protect your online profile from cyber criminals.

2. What are cyber criminals stealing?

According to Javelin Strategy & Research over 12.6 million people were a victim of identity theft in 2012. The increased security breaches contributed to this problem. Websites such as …show more content…

A criminal can steal a child’s identity and use their identity for years before being caught. To protect your children look for signs of suspicious activity. Are you receiving calls from debt collectors in your child\s name? Do you have bills arriving at your home in your child\s name? These are just a few of the signs that someone is using your child’s identity. Therefore, if you notice strange activity in your children’s name, contact the credit agencies and request they run a manual search on your child’s social security number. Furthermore, if a form requests your child’s social security number and you are suspicious of the reasons, don’t supply