Top 10 Ways Identity Theft Affects You
Identity thieves use several dubious — and creative — tactics to steal your identity. Here are 10 ways it could happen to you.
Download- Insurance – Thief gets insurance as you. Then his driving record affects your rates.
- Medical – You could be treated – and misdiagnosed – if a thief's info is in your records.
- Social Security – Thieves can get (and default on) loans, access your Social Security benefits & get a passport.
- Criminal – A simple traffic ticket results in your arrest for crimes committed by someone using your identity.
- Driver's License – Someone steals your license & makes a duplicate with their image.
- Child – Criminals can use a child's identity for years putting a child's future credit rating & ability to get student loans at risk.
- Synthetic – A person creates a new bogus identity using info from numerous victims. This makes it difficult to figure out how many victims are involved.
- Fake Wi-Fi – A thief sets up a Wi-Fi network with the same name as the real one & you mistakenly log on. Using malware, the perp hacks your email & bank accounts.
- Posing as a Census Worker – Fraudsters collect info by going door to door posing as census workers.
- Mining Social Media Profiles – People who don't have privacy settings on their social media profiles are prime targets.
