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Surprising ways identity thieves can get our personal information
By karen | August 15, 2007
DON’T PANIC! IT’S NOT PERSONAL.
* Fraud via Lists *
The most common types of identity theft is crafted by people who
will never meet you. These are low-life scum who make wads of money as
quickly and expeditiously as they possibly can. Those who investigate
identity theft call this type of scum fraudsters. Fraudsters work on
mass scale, often gaining hits of personal information in the 200 to
2000 ranges. They work in groups from two to forty people and often
switch locations to keep beneath the radar of investigators. Fraud
groups like this are called fraud rings.
Fraudsters use a combination of wholesale purchase of mailing
lists, skip tracing programs and credit reports. Here’s how it goes:
A fraudster purchases a list of names and addresses from any mailing
list broker. Mailing list brokers are legitimate businesses. The cost
of each person’s name and address (and maybe even their social security
number) can range from $0.02 to $20.00 depending how much information
is available as well as how recently that information has been updated.
The fraudster than runs credits checks to look for open checking
accounts, credit card accounts and loans. Although these are not
required for fraudsters, the ability to hack open accounts is a nice
boon. From there it’s just a matter of applying for credit cards, loans
and opening bank accounts in your name.
- Average time from purchase of list, running a credit check and
opening a fraudulent bank account online for the first validated name?:
10 to 20 minutes.
- Average value of money per name and info acquired: $180,000.00
* Fraud via Relatives *
Identity theft by a relative is currently the second most common
cause of identity theft. The reasons for stealing a social security
number, name and address from a relative can be extraordinarily simple
and horribly complex.
Some relatives steal personal information to fulfill basic needs such as:
1. To pay for necessary items such as food
2. To pay for medicine and doctors visits
Some relatives steal personal information because they:
1. Want to get even
2. Are greedy and feel they deserve more than what they can get through normal means
Most personal information such as a social security number is freely
available to family members. This information can be found on hospital
records, health insurance cards, and even some genealogy charts!
- Average time from discovery of your personal information to opening a fraudulent account: 20 to 30 days.
- Average value of money per name and info acquired: $1,250.00
* Corporate Security Failures *
Up until 2003 it was unthinkable that major corporations or
businesses would allow any type of your personal information to fall into
the wrong hands. However, times are changing and the numbers of
security breaches are increasing exponentially. The failure of big
business to protect your private information can show up in unexpected
areas:
1. Employees ignoring company policy and removing databases from secured locations to work at home.
2. Fallen and/or ruined loan offices and banking businesses failing
to secure your personal information in storage or authorized data
storage facilities until their files are properly disposed of via
shredding or incineration.
3. Inexperienced computer programmers or web designers foul up
Internet connections and privacy settings. In such cases your
information may be mixed with another persons or may just be left open
to wholesale access online.
- Average time from discovery of your personal information to opening a fraudulent account: 10 to 15 days.
- Average value of money per name and info acquired: $3,800.00
* Illegal Aliens *
One of the fastest growing types of identity thefts is the
wholesale use of social security numbers. The number of Illegal Aliens
in the USA using stolen social security numbers has grown to an
astronomical level. One valid social security number can be sold and
used upwards of fifty times to gain employment and other benefits.
Worse, discount stores and wholesalers who are alerted to the
illegal use of social security numbers feel no obligation to report the
abuse to authorities.
- Average time from purchase of your personal information to opening a fraudulent bank account: 5 to 35 days
- Average value of money per name and info acquired: $15,000.00 annually
* Dumpster Diving *
The fifth (and least likely) form of identity theft is via dumpster
diving or digging through your trash. This is the hardest and most time
consuming type of identity theft out there. Only someone who has a lot
of time on their hands will go this far to get your personal
information. It is much easier for someone to:
- Buy your name and
check your particulars online, - Find your information through an
internet security failure or corporate failure, - Steal your mail,
- Buy your information illegally off the streets. It is always best to
contact the police if you feel someone is routinely digging through
your trash.
- Average time to discover and assemble all the necessary personal information via dumpster diving: 3 to 5 weeks.
- Average value of money per name and info acquired: $1,200.00
* Identity Theft Is Not: *
- Having your wallet stolen or loosing your credit card. Identity
theft is not considered identity theft until non-associated bank
accounts and/or loans are compromised or opened. Until then it is just
a stolen credit car, wallet, check, ect. - Having your debit card or credit card number stolen off a
receipt. There is no way to back track your credit card number to a
credit bureau or personal information. - The waiter/waitress skimming your credit card or debit card. A
skimmer is a pager sized device that can capture the information held
on the magnetic strip of your credit card. The most this strip should
hold is you fist and last name and your credit card number. With a few
rare exceptions this magnetic strip may also hold your csc number. - Handing your credit card or debit card to a relative to use.
Many banks, lenders, credit card companies do not consider this fraud.
They will require for you to file a report against said relative and
take the relative to court before stepping in with their own
investigation.
Learn more visit: http://www.helium.com/tm/304585/panic-personal-fraud-lists
Topics: Helpful Resources |
One Response to “Surprising ways identity thieves can get our personal information”
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June 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
[...] information, usually a Social Security number (SSN), to open new accounts in his or her name. Thieves can obtain this information in a variety of ways, from going through a consumer’s garbage looking for financial receipts with account numbers [...]