What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft happens when someone uses your personal information, such as your social security number, date of birth, and/or address to commit fraud or various other offenses. All it takes is momentary access to your wallet, pay stub, online accounts, credit card statements, personal check or any combination of various other personal documents to have your personal identity stolen.

A common scenario revolves around those unsolicited credit card applications you get in the mail. As many people do, you probably just toss them into the trash. This is a gold mine for an identity thief. He simply sifts through your trash, takes the application (along with a canceled check or pay stub with your social security number on them), fills out the application and sends it in. A few weeks later he gets a fresh credit card with your name on it delivered right to his PO Box. He signs it and off he goes to ruin your credit.

That’s just one example. There is a virtually unlimited amount of things they can do with your information: take money out of your checking account, write bad checks on your name, rent an apartment, or buy a car. The list goes on and on and on.

Of course, you don’t find out about it until it’s too late: you’re car loan gets rejected, large charges appear on your credit card statement or large amount of cash end up missing from your checking account.

This alone is only part of the ordeal. You may have to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to repair the damage caused by identity theft. In cases where attorneys are involved, the costs can be insurmountable. It is not unusual for an identity theft victim to be forced to file bankruptcy…for bills they didn’t run up!

This site has been put together for the sole purposes of informing you about identity theft. Please put this information to good use. Don’t be an identity theft victim.