There have been several cases where Identity Theft has left individuals with no other option than to file for bankruptcy.  While there are laws in place to protect consumers, there is a lot of work still associated  with restoring your good name.

A Gartner and Harris Interactive study done July 2003 approximately 7 million people were ID Theft victims. That equals 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, 13.3 per minute. The years from 2004 to 2005 show a terrifying trend: the number of ID theft victims is growing at a blistering pace - 80%.  That puts the current numbers of ID theft incidents above 40,824,000.

Think of it this way, ID theft has affected about 1/3 of the US population.  At current trends, ID theft will be a WHEN, not an IF.

Here is what ID theft is: "bad people" take your personal information and create an alternate identity.  Then the "bad people" buy stuff they don't pay for.  And you have will be accountable for the cash or you will spend 3 years of your life cleaning up the mess. 

Often the bad people commit crimes with your name. You will do time for a crime you didn't commit.  Do you know how easy it is to get YOUR personal information? Identity thieves do. Here is a short list of where they look:

• From your check written at the grocery
• From your credit card charges at restaurants
• From your mail box
• Your tax returns
• Your bank statements
• Your credit card statements
• Your credit card offers
• Your new checks
• From diverting your mail with a "change of address form"
• From bribing employees for your work records
• From conning employees for your work records
• From hacking your work records
• From your trash on the curb
• From your business trash
• From your municipal waste dump
• From stealing your wallet or purse
• From "skimming" your credit or debit card; the process of capturing credit card data on a storage device.
• From "phishing" your online information: pose as legitimate companies; claiming that you have a problem with your account.
• From "pretexting" your information by phone; pose as legitimate companies; claiming that you have a problem with your account.

What Can Identity Thieves DO with your information? Whatever they want!

Once ID thieves have your information they can call your credit card company and change your billing address. With a new address they establish new credit.  They run up charges on these fraudulent accounts.  The bills never reach you.  It will be months before you realize your Identity problem.

ID Thieves can establish phone or wireless service in your name.

ID Thieves can open a bank account in your name and write bad checks.

ID Thieves can counterfeit checks or credit or debit cards, or authorize electronic transfers in your name, and drain your bank account.

ID Thieves can file bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts.

ID Thieves can buy a car in your name.

ID Thieves can get identification i.e. driver's license in your name.

ID Thieves can get a job in your name

ID Thieves can file tax returns in your name.

Even Worse... ID Thieves can give your name to the police during an arrest.  The police arrest YOU for failure to appear in court.  YIKES!

Where is your get out of jail free card?  What can you do for yourself? 

Stopping the flow of personal information is almost impossible.  However, there is no reason to hand the bad people your identity on a platter. 

Stem the tide of your personal information. 

1. Shred all bank and credit statements and "junk mail" credit card offers.  (Crosscut shredders cost more but are far superior.)

2. Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus to reduce the number of pre-approved credit offers you receive.

3. Do not mail bill payments and checks from home. They can be stolen from your mailbox and washed clean in chemicals. Take them to the post office, or pay them online.   Statistically, less than 2% of ID theft incidents occur from hacking private computers.  With very few exceptions financial information transmitted over the internet is secured with powerful encryption protocols.  The vast percentage of Internet ID theft occurs by "phishing": bogus websites tricking people into giving personal information. 

4. Do not print your Social Security number on your checks.

5. Cancel unused credit card accounts.

6. Watch for shoulder Surfers trying to catch your Pin at ATM's and when using Phone Cards. 

7. Memorize social security numbers and passwords.

8. Put passwords on all your accounts and do not use your mother's maiden name. Make up a fictitious word.

9. Get a post office box or a locked mailbox, if you possibly can.

10. If you do not know a person who identifies themselves as a credit grantor DON'T give them personal information. 

What it takes to stay ahead of the bad guys - Vigilance and Damage Control

Somebody has to watch your credit activity all the time.  You can get a free credit report once a year, or if you have been denied credit. However, a lot of damage can be done when you are not looking.
You can have someone watch for you by contacting the three credit reporting companies and enroll in their monitoring services.

For Example:  TrueCredit, a service of credit bureau TransUnion offers weekly service alerts and credit reports updated every quarter for $10.95 a quarter (or $43.80 a year). 

On average cost for the various credit monitoring is around $75 a year.

For continual monitoring from all three bureaus, you'd need to shell out about $200 a year.
 
I'm sure you are quick enough to realize that MONITORING credit activity does not PREVENT ID theft.   The real work starts after you're a victim.  Here is what you will have to do to clean up your ID theft crime:

1. Contact ALL of your credit card and Bank accounts holders.  Close them ASAP. 

2. Contact all three nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert.

3. Contact the government agency that issued licenses or ID's, and ask them to flag your file.

4. File a police report. (Detail your conversations copy all correspondence.)

5. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (Detail your conversations copy all correspondence.)

Step Six: Document EVERYTHING?

Keep this in mind: you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent.   Start your research and keep meticulous notes. Document every interaction you have with an interested party: credit card companies, banks, government agencies.  The greatest complaint from ID theft victims revolves around not being able to establish a track record of conversation.  

"Your ID Theft War chest"

An ID thief snags your identity and you have to go to war.    What will it take finance your efforts?  Here are some projected costs for restoring your identity:

The average amount of fraudulent charges is roughly $18,000: range from $250 up to $200,000.  http://www.privacyrights.org/index.htm

You will spend an average of 600 hours recovering from ID theft; depending on your hourly wage, you may spend nearly $16,000 in lost or unrealized income.  You will have to investigate the crime where the ID theft occurred.  For example, if you live in Washington DC and the crime happens in Hollywood, you will have to contact the authorities in LA. Many people will have to turn to the expertise of a Private Investigator.  Most people do not have the time or the connections to interact effectively with local law enforcement.  Private investigators will cost you as much as $100.00 per hour plus expenses.  The cost for two and a half weeks of Professional investigation will be in excess of $10,000.

Economic Realities Of Doing It Yourself

- Big three Credit Monitoring = $200.00 per year
- Fraudulent Charges = $18,000.00
- Personal Spending = $1,800.00
- Lost time from work = $8,000.00
- Private Investigator = $10,000
Total = $38,000.00

Do you have that kind of money?