The foremost and most dangerous form of identity theft followed by criminals is financial identity theft, where in, a fraudulent individual steals the identity of another to buy goods or avail services of his or her choosing. There are usually two varieties of financial identity theft, namely, the perpetrator established accounts, and the victim established accounts assessed.
In case of the perpetrator established accounts variety, the criminal usually steals the identity of another individual to open a new bank account or a new line of credit. In such a case, the criminal makes use of the good credit history of the victim to obtain a new loan, a new credit card, etc.
In case of the victim established accounts assessed, the criminal would assume the identity of an account holder to utilise funds saved by the victim. These criminals usually get hold of a PIN code, card number or deposit slip and do the needful to make life miserable for a victim. Once they are in possession of the said card number or PIN code, they will have access to a variety of financial delivery systems, such as the teller at the bank, an ATM, or transfer of funds through phone banking.
We have now given you a clear idea about the most dangerous form of identity theft ever imaginable. It is now time for us to look at certain steps, as stated by lifelock ID theft protection, that we can take to ensure that such a travesty does not occur. These steps can be used even if your identity has already been stolen, with an aim to reduce the damage caused to you by this crime. Read on to find out more.
- The very first step that you need to take is to make your ATM pin secure whenever you are using it an ATM counter, or at a retailer kiosk. You need to keep your PIN stored in your head and not written down anywhere. People would ask you to write it down if you cannot remember it, but it is an extremely bad idea. Never write your PIN down anywhere, not even on your smartphone notes app. This is the best way you can secure yourself.
- The next step you need to take is to destroy any and every document which you do not require. Use a shredder to shred credit card receipts, loan applications which were not used and any other document that may contain your personal or financial information. Fraudulent individuals and criminals are always in search for such less important documents to use them as a means to stealing your identity.
- Make sure to get a monthly copy of your bank statements and credit reports from your banks on a monthly basis. Keeping an eye on these figures will allow you to detect any kind of misgivings or misdoings that might have occurred without your knowledge.
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