While no doubt you have heard of different types of identity theft, you may not have heard a great deal about social security number theft. Most of the time when you think of identity theft you think of someone stealing your credit card number or other financial information. Although this can be dangerous and cause a myriad of problems, social security number theft is even worse.
What is Social Security Number Theft?
Social security number theft occurs when someone actually takes your social security number and creates a new identity under it. This means that not only is your number used for you, but also by the fake identity created by the identity thief. This new type of identity theft is much harder to catch as well, and many times people’s lives can spiral out of control before they even realize what has happened to them.
In some cases, thieves have created new persons and worked under this new fake identity and then failed to pay their income taxes, which resulted in the victim suddenly being in trouble with the government. People have also committed crimes under these fake identities and then when the victim went to get a loan or apply for a job, their background check showed that they had been arrested and convicted for various crimes. Of course under these new identities the identity thieves can also create bank accounts, get credit cards, and new cell phones, all under the social security number of the victim.
Preventing Social Security Number Theft
This type of identity theft is extremely scary, so you will want to make sure that you do everything possible to prevent this type of theft from occurring. First of all you need to be sure that you are careful about giving out your social security number, and never do this over the phone. Also avoid carrying your social security card with you in case your wallet or purse gets stolen. You may also want to make sure that your social security number is not the number on your drivers license as well.
If you do suspect that you may be a victim of social security number theft, one of the first places you should look is on your social security statement. Look to make sure that there is no income listed that you are not aware of too. Checking your credit report regularly is important too. This type of identity theft should be taken extremely seriously, as it now is the most prevalent type of identity theft that is occurring.
So stay alert! Beware!
Author and internet entrepreneur Bernard Pragides offers expert advice and tips regarding identity theft. Learn more about identity theft and fraud by visiting his blog at http://www.identity4life-blog.com and his website http://www.IdentityProtek.com for more helpful information.
Tags: identity fraud, identity theft, identity theft protection, lifelock, phishing
