What the Identity Thief Wants 

 Before you begin to devise an effective identity theft protection plan, school yourself on the modes and methods of identity fraud by learning:

• What identity thieves want and why
• Where they find what they want
• The schemes and scams used to swipe your personal data

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What the Identity Thief Wants

Here is a “shopping list” of details about YOU that identity thieves would love to get their hands on:

• Social Security number
• Date of Birth
• Credit-Card numbers
• CW2 security numbers (on back of your credit card)
• Bank Account information
• ATM cards
• Passwords/Personal Identification Numbers (PINs)
• Mother’s Maiden name
• Credit Reports
• Driver’s License number
• Telephone calling cards
• Mortgage Details
• Home address
• Phone numbers

How Your Information Is Abused By the Identity Thief

Once your personal information is in hand, this allows the ID thief to:

• Apply for a piece of official identification (e.g., a driver’s license) with YOUR name but with THEIR photo
• Contact your credit card issuer and request a change of billing address on your account.  The ID thief will begin to make charges on your account…and because the statements are being sent to the re-routed address, it may be some time before you realize the problem.
• Apply for new credit cards in your name and go on a spending spree.  The delinquent accounts are noted on your credit report.
• File for bankruptcy in your name to avoid paying the debts they have incurred in your name or sometimes to avoid eviction.
• Use electronic information (captured from the magnetic strip of your credit card) to counterfeit other credit or debit cards…making it possible to authorize electronic transfers in your name and possibly drain your bank account
• Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks
• Take out an auto loan and purchase a car in your name
• Establish phone or wireless service in your name
• Frame you for a crime by giving your name and other identifying information to the police during an arrest.  And when they don’t show up for the court date, guess whose name is on the re-arrest warrant?

And in the case of Identity Cloning (see Types of Identity Theft), an ID thief may use your information to:

• Get a job and file a tax return in your name

Where Can the Identity Thief Find What He Wants?

YOU are the most obvious source however, you’re not the only gatekeeper of your information.  There are other entities that have possession of your data:

• Your bank, school, employer, landlord and doctor
• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices
• Insurance Companies
• Governmental agencies (Internal Revenue Service, The Department of Labor)
• Telephone companies
• Merchants
• Credit Card networks
• Credit-Reporting agencies
• Data-Brokerage firms
• Payment-Processing agencies