How do Identity Thieves Get Your Info?
May 13th, 2008
Identity thieves use a number of different ways to obtain your information. Some of them are: dumpster diving. They rummage through trash looking for discarded documents containing your personal information. Changing your address: they divert your mailing statements to their location by filing a change of address form with the post office. Phishing: This is the one that gets all the media coverage in articles about identity theft, but it continues to work for the bad guys. They pretend to be financial institutions or membership sites in order to get you to enter your personal information into a web form controlled by them. Skimming: they steal credit or debit card numbers by using a special electronic device at the point of purchase.
These are just a few of the tricks identity thieves have up their sleeves. They also have a number of other ways of obtaining your personal info. Unfortunately, this requires us to live our lives in a state of perpetual suspicion. However, this is the new reality and I guess we’ll have to learn to live with it.
Entry Filed under: Miscellaneous