About Identity Theft

The more you know about identity theft, the better you will be able to prevent it. Here are some expert tips on ID theft from Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog?.

How Your Identity Is Stolen

Identity thieves are constantly inventing novel ways to compromise your personal information.  Here are the most common ways that Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog? can help you avoid:

• Trash digging.  Identity thieves are not above dumpster diving.  They will rummage through your trash to find bills or other documents with personal information.
• Going phishing.  Pretending to be financial institutions, identity thieves will send spam or pop-up ads to try to trick you into revealing your personal information.
• Skimming.  Thieves implant a special storage device that steals your credit/debit card number when you use your card.
• Change of address.  Thieves will fill out a change-of-address form to have your mail diverted to another location where your information can be stolen.
• False pretense.  Some identity thieves will use false pretenses to obtain personal information from your creditors.
• Theft.  The old-fashioned way of stealing an identity is to steal a purse or wallet.  If this happens to you, Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog? will help you cancel all of your accounts and obtain new identifying information and documents.

What Thieves Do with Your Identity

Once thieves have your personal information, Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog? has found that they will typically use it for one or more of the following purposes:

• Credit card fraud.  Thieves may open new accounts in your name.  Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog? can help prevent this by setting fraud alerts on your behalf.
• Phone or utilities fraud.  Identity thieves may use your name to open new wireless, cable TV, or utility accounts.  They may also run up charges on an existing account.
• Bank fraud.  Thieves can use your name or account number to write counterfeit checks.  Similarly, they can open an account in your name and write bad checks.  Need an Identity Theft Guard Dog? can help prevent both of these occurrences.
• Government document fraud.  Once they have your information, thieves can easily get a driver’s license or social security card in your name to get certain employment opportunities or government benefits.

If you have any questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.