Identity theft is not limited to credit card fraud. This nasty cyber crime can steal your Social Security Number, your name, and even your retirement claims. Billions of Americans and Britons have been victimized by cyber thieves who prey on the unwary. So don’t wait to wake up to a pile of credit card purchases you did not make or to the horrors of a cleaned-out bank account. Do something now.
What is Identity Theft?
For every positive innovation, there’s always a sinister checkmate. If the Internet has made lives easier and convenient, it has also spawned a new breed of miscreants - the identity thieves and the hackers who bilk billions of dollars from the hundreds of thousands of people using the Internet for their online transactions.
The government is not even spared. Sensitive emails and information vanish without trace, putting at risk the credibility of government organizations to manage massive information.
Identity theft or identity fraud is a crime. The criminal uses your name, credit card, or Social Security number for his economic gain. All your money in the bank will be skimmed off by fraudsters who chance on your personal financial information. What if the money is all your life’s savings? […]
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According to the Federal trade Commission there was an estimated half million children who joined the ranks last year with the unfortunate distinction of becoming victims of identity theft. An advocacy group called the Identity Theft Resource Center identifies relatives as being involved in more than half of the child identity theft cases reported in the United States in year 2006.It should be noted however, the thief is not always someone who knows the child. It is suspected by this resource center that identity theft of children is increasing so rapidly precisely because kids are such good targets. They further believe children are victimized because they usually have a spotless record and because they aren’t using their credit and as such; the crime can go undetected for years.Now that most infants by law have social security numbers, thieves have discovered they may be the easiest targets of all. Thieves have years to manipulate these identities and create a considerable amount of damage. Infants and children remain lucrative targets because they typically don’t use their social security numbers until their late teens and discover the theft problem upon applying for a first job, a student loan or a credit card. […]
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If you’re a businessperson, you should know that protecting personal and company data is paramount and that you must exercise extraordinary diligence when destroying old or unneeded data. Unfortunately, thieves have made big business out of identity theft. We all remember the TV ad where a thief rummages through your garbage, ready to steal your important paperwork and identity.Many regulations and laws outline how to protect valuable information. Federal and state laws like Sarbanes-Oxley, FACTA, HIPAA, and others have strict rules about the protection and disposal of stored or recorded media. They all stipulate that neither business nor individuals may dispose of anything that has, or relates to, private information, without first eliminating the data. In addition, most public, private and governmental entities demand that information like tax returns, information, military and governmental data, trade secrets, product formulas, software codes, etc. be protected. If you fail to comply with these laws and regulations, you could pay a heavy penalty to the tune of around $250,000 in fines.Degaussing: How It WorksErasing data through degaussing is one of the most secure ways to eliminate information on magnetic computer tapes and hard drives. Degaussing refers to when a magnetic field using an alternating […]
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