Online Personal Credit Reports & Credit Scores

How identity theft occurs

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, impacting more than 9 million people each year. The more you know about this prevalent crime, the better prepared you will be to protect yourself. Identity thieves can get hold of your personal information in a variety of sneaky and illegal ways:

Your mail—

	•	They go through your mail and take your bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers or tax information

	•	They complete a change of address form and reroute your mail to another location They call your credit card company and ask to change the mailing address on your accounts. Then they run up the charges on your credit card. Because your bills are being sent to the new address, it may take some time before you realize what has happened.

Stealing your information—

	•	They steal your wallet or purse containing your personal identification and credit cards

	•	They dumpster dive, rummaging through trash bins for your personal information such as unshredded credit card and loan applications

	•	They shoulder surf at ATM machines and phone booths in order to capture PIN numbers They use hand-held card readers called skimmers to steal your credit card data at a restaurant or store. They send out phishing emails pretending to be a bank or online business and ask you to update your account information.

Buying your information from a third party—

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They buy your personal information from "inside" sources. For instance, an identity thief may pay a store employee for a copy of your credit application

While pretending to be you, thieves—


	•	They use your name, date of birth and Social Security Number, to open a new credit card account. They use the credit card and don't pay the bills. Or, sometimes they make the minimum payment every month so that the activity can go on unnoticed for months

	•	They establish phone or wireless service in your name

	•	They open a checking account or apply for a job in your name

	•	They file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying the debts they’ve incurred as you