How Identity Theft Happens Identity theft occurs when a cyber criminal steal personal information and uses it for fraudulent purposes. In other words, a criminal will take somones credit card number or some other personal data and use it to purchase goods and services, forcing the unwitting victim to pay for it all.
According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Identity Theft occurs primarily through these means:
1. Dumpster Diving: criminals will go through trash top look for old, discarded credit card bills, bank statments and other papers that can give away your personal data. 2. Skimming: Certain illegal electronic devices will be used at stores and places of business. These devices will store the number off your credit cards when it is used at the store. A Cyber Criminal will then collect this data and use it for his or her own purposes.
3. Phishing: Criminals will pretend to be affiliated with your financial institution or authorities in order to solicit personal information from you
4. Changing: Criminals will use the change of adress option on most credit cards to divert your bills to a seperate adress. This gives them access to your personal information without them having to take any of the above steps.
5. Old-Fashioned Stealing: Cerain time-tested methods of theft can be applied to something as new and technologically advanced as Cyber Crime. Pickpocketing, mugging and bribing employees with access to important information can lead to identity theft.
6. Pretexting: A Cyber Criminal can try to obtain your personal information under false prestenses. a phony phonecall from your bank may include the caller asking you for your social security number and your bank account number.
Identity theft occurs when a cyber criminal steal personal information
and uses it for fraudulent purposes. In other words, a criminal will take
somones credit card number or some other personal data and use
it to purchase goods and services, forcing the unwitting victim to pay
for it all.
According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Identity Theft
occurs primarily through these means:
1. Dumpster Diving: criminals will go through trash top look for
old, discarded credit card bills, bank statments
and other papers that can give away your personal
data.
2. Skimming: Certain illegal electronic devices will be used at stores and
places of business. These devices will store the number off
your credit cards when it is used at the store. A Cyber Criminal
will then collect this data and use it for his or her own purposes.
3. Phishing: Criminals will pretend to be affiliated with your financial institution or
authorities in order to solicit personal information from you
4. Changing: Criminals will use the change of adress option on most credit cards to
divert your bills to a seperate adress. This gives them access to your
personal information without them having to take any of the above steps.
5. Old-Fashioned Stealing: Cerain time-tested methods of theft can be applied to something
as new and technologically advanced as Cyber Crime. Pickpocketing,
mugging and bribing employees with access to important information
can lead to identity theft.
6. Pretexting: A Cyber Criminal can try to obtain your personal information under false prestenses.
a phony phonecall from your bank may include the caller asking you for your social
security number and your bank account number.