What Is Identity Theft

Category: Finance.

What is Identity Theft?

Each one of us is unique. We are all proud of our name, our reputation and our accomplishments. We each have our very own distinct identity. A coach, parent or boss, teacher may have misunderstood, more than the problem being the other person who got all the credit. We have all been annoyed when someone took credit for something we accomplished. You are just annoyed that they bask in the glory of the moment when you think they really should give you at least some of the credit.

It usually doesn t really matter in the big scheme of things. You soon learn its part of life, and to" just get over it" and move on. The problem becomes much more serious when your identity is not just borrowed for a moment, but is actually deliberately stolen and used for profit by someone else. You may incur financial losses, or even legal issues in the form of a criminal record. Worse, there may be serious consequences for you personally. You could face severe difficulties just getting on with the routines of your life.

You may find it difficult to get employment. Insurance companies, and lending companies, banks may not want to do business with you- or they may only offer tough terms. It may be hard for you to rent a home. You could face large bills from having to engage identity theft lawyers to protect your identity. Foreign countries may not admit you as a visitor if the records show you are a criminal. You may well have every right to feel frustrated.

Nevertheless, the processes to recover your losses and put your reputation right will probably move very slowly, and perhaps at great emotional expense and financial cost to you. These kinds of identity fraud are crimes, and you become a victim of crime. The problem for those in leadership is deciding who, is the perpetrator, in fact of identity fraud- you or the thief. We all have rights, even thieves pretending to be you. Put yourself in their position: both you and the identity thief seem to be the same individual. We are all assumed to be innocent until proven guilty under our legal system. You may find it necessary to engage an identity fraud attorney.

Until you or an investigator can show clear evidence one way or the other, and until those in authority accept you are the" real" you, and what you have or have not done, then you may feel under suspicion as the thief yourself. Expect to be somewhat discouraged as the wheels of justice slowly grind away to sort out these questions. It is very wise to take what measures you reasonably can to prevent your identity from being stolen to begin with. And expect it may take a long time to fully clear your reputation of the damage an identity thief can do to you.