Introduction to Identity Theft

Much has been covered on the topic of identity theft throughout this book and hopefully it has been successful in answering all of your questions, clarifying any misconceptions or myths and in providing you with an enlightened understanding of the issues involved in identity theft. 

We have conquered not only what identity theft is and how it occurs but also, how you can have a hand in preventing it and knowing what to do when or if it does affect you.  The sad reality remains however that no matter how many precautions you take it is never possible to be fully immune to identity thieves. 

Even when you’ve done everything possible the threat still exists and always will.  The best that you can do for yourself and your family is to protect what you are capable of protecting and arm yourself with the knowledge that will help you deal with whatever else it happens to be that may come along at some later point in life.  Often you are not only relying on just your own actions and methods of protection but also those of the companies whom you have entrusted with your personal information. 

It’s very similar to when a parent tells their son or daughter who has just received their driver’s license that they need to be careful on the road.  The child generally responds with, “Mom, dad, I am a safe driver, don’t worry about me”.  The parent then tells the child, “It’s not your driving that I’m worried about, it’s the other people on the road that concern me.”  The fact is, you just can’t control the actions, mistakes or oversights of others. You are forced to put your faith into them and into their capabilities.  You must trust that they are as concerned about your privacy and in protecting it as you are.  You must believe that they will act with due diligence in taking every step possible on your behalf to prevent an act of identity theft against you.

However, sometimes those people fail, they let us down and they put us at great risk.

Here are some actual headlines from major news sources of cases where very well known and very large institutions have compromised the privacy of their customers.

• “ChoicePoint: More ID theft warnings…company says criminals able to obtain almost 140,000 names, addresses and other information.”

Source – CNN February 2005

• “American Online has confirmed that hackers have illegally compromised an undisclosed number of its member accounts”

Source – News.com June 2000

• “LexisNexis, a worldwide provider of legal and business data, announced yesterday that information about 32,000 consumers was fraudulently gathered in a

series of incidents.”

Source – Washington Post March 2005

• “For the second time in about a year, the credit reporting company Equifax Canada Inc. has suffered a security breach that has given criminals access to personal financial information.”

Source – Globe And Mail June 2005

• “AOL breach gives spam fight a twist…The security breach, believed to be one of the worst of its kind, is the latest twist in the proliferation of spam: a rogue employee supplying a subscriber list for profit.”

Source – USA Today June 2004

• “Bank of America says at least 1.2 million federal employee credit card accounts may be exposed to theft or hacking”

Source – Time February 2005

Make an effort to be familiar with those businesses that you deal with and ask them what steps and measures they take in protecting you?  You have entrusted them with your personal information and financial matters, which means you have every right to expect nothing less than all of their efforts in protecting your privacy. 

You also have every right to hold them accountable for any breach of privacy that does occur.  Remember, these are the same companies that are telling you to protect yourself from identity theft.  But are they taking the same care when it comes to your protection?  You deserve to know, so ask them.  There are many competing companies out there that would love your business, and if the ones that you are working with currently can’t satisfy you with the kinds of answers that these important questions deserve, be confident and know that someone in some other place certainly can.