10 Ways to Have Your Identity Stolen

Identity theft is a growing problem in the United States and Arizona has one of the highest levels of identity theft in the nation. I am often asked, “How does someone steal an identity?” Here are 10 popular methods criminals use to steal a person’s identity.

 1. Phishing – Criminals use spam e-mail or pop-up windows asking consumers to disclose their personal information such as bank account numbers, social security number and date of birth. Often these appear to be legitimate correspondence from a financial institution or government agency.

2. Criminals complete a “change of address ” form and send it to the post office thus routing the victims mail to a PO Box where the criminal can retrieve the mail at their leisure.

3. Criminals steal mail directly from the victim’s mailbox which can include bank statements, wage statements, credit card information and preapproved checks.

4. Shoulder Surfing – Criminals standing nearby obtain credit card or other information typed into a laptop or PDA, and provided verbally over the phone.

5. Fraudsters steal wallets and purses which often contain valuable personal information.

6. Criminals pose as legitimate government officials, corporate employees, or members of legitimate and call victims asking for personal information. This is usually done by convincing the victim the information is needed to complete a transaction.

7. Criminals steal personal information from government and business computers by hacking into the systems.

8. Criminals can obtain your personal information when they break into your home or car.

9. Criminals rummage through trash to find bank statements, credit card statements and other documents containing personal information.

10. Credit/Debit Card Skimming – Criminals place devices on ATMs and credit card transaction machines that read and copy the information on the card’s magnetic strip.

 

Robert K. Minniti, CPA, CFE, Cr.FA, CFF, MBA

www.minnitiaccounting.com

www.linkedin.com/in/robertminniti