As you grow up, you hear the same old spiel from your parents. You are constantly reminded not to talk to strangers. You are always being preached about how it is dangerous to cross the street without holding hands while walking through the crosswalk. No one ever warns you to make sure you don't give out personal information. Identity theft has become more and more rampant throughout the US. It's all so simple a theory. Who would ever think to warn their loved ones about having their identity stolen? So many people are stuck into thinking that they are secure and that their own personal security can't be tampered with, but they have no idea of what can really occur. Imagine what it would feel like to walk out to your mailbox to find what looks to be like a regular monthly bill from a company and then after looking at the bill, you realize that you have charges on your account that do not belong to you. You start to scratch your head in confusion and try to figure out what in the world is going on. Faster than a speeding bullet, you call the toll free number provided to clear up the matter. You then drop the phone in utter astonishment upon discovering that someone has somehow found out all your information and has used your credit cards and bank account for their own personal benefit. You also find out that that person used your personal identification information without your knowledge. That is exactly what happens to over 100,000 U. S. citizens a year. This is a quote of how Steve Wargenson felt.
"My particular case was credit card fraud, the most common form of identity theft. I remember opening a credit card statement and instead of seeing the usual amount that I owe every month, it said I had charged $25,000.00 in just a few days. There was no way that I had made those charges-(Caribbean Today, pg1).
The Basics of the Problem.
How does someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone takes your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud and/or other crimes.