Article Advise

submitted: Jun 6th 2008 | by: PaulWilcox | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 335 | |

The hot topic concerning online use is old news according to the history of identity theft in the United States as well as other countries. While the victim still loses their money, their credit score and their reputation, at least they still have their health.

Before modern times, a thief would usually kill the victim and assume their identity. And they didnt have to worry about if they looked like the victim or not since there were no photo identification cards.

As time progressed, thieves learned other ways to obtain information for identity theft. They could easily rummage through someones trash to find useful information to commit identity theft. Some peoples trash contained a goldmine of information for thieves such as bank statements and credit card information. Thieves could easily use this information to assume another persons identity.

As the history of identity theft matured, thieves took to stealing directly from the mailbox, keeping an eye out on days bank statements usually went out. This method was just as successful but did not share the dirt that was evident in dumpster diving.

The inception of telemarketing brought about a new way for thieves to steal information. They could call unsuspecting people and tell them they won or prize or were from a charitable organization to obtain information or money. Initially, it was very easy to convince people to give out personal information, which they could later use to open credit card accounts, drain bank accounts or use the information to obtain a loan in the victims name.

Internet Opens the Door for More Identity Theft Crimes

When people started conducting personal transactions online, thieves found a new source for stealing information. They began to hack into banking sites to obtain personal information. Banking sites then began using tougher security controls leaving thieves to find more intuitive ways to steal information.

The fear of not being able to conduct transactions online as well as correcting possible problems with an account, also make some people willing to share their personal information with identity thieves.

About the Author

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