What are the difficulties encountered by victim’s of identity theft?

Answer 1

Their Credit History is ruined for quite some time even after they take all the necessary steps of notifying the Police,DMV,Credit Bureaus and the Social Security Admin.

People are known/Identified by their Social Security number with their Bank,The IRS,Credit Card Companies and Schools; so a victim could have difficulty obtaining loans,credit and employment.

Criminals steal personal information, such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, ATM card numbers, telephone calling card numbers and other key pieces of personal data and use them to impersonate their victims. After assuming your identity, they will quickly move to spend or borrow as much money as they can before moving on to their next victim.

Once the thief has this information, they may open a new credit card account or apply for financial aid using your identity and their address. Chances are, you will be unaware that any of this has taken place until the bills go unpaid. The creditor then reports the delinquency to your credit file.

Depending on the extent of the ID theft it could take Years to untangle and even then they may have creditors after them.

Answer 2

Your credit rating gets trashed. Criminals take out credits cards using your personal information, then run up the cards.

As a victim, you have to first prove that these credit cards were taken out fraudulently, so you don't get stuck with the bill. Then you need to figure out how to get the information off your credit report. Credit card companies don't want to get stuck with the loss, and they have much deeper pockets to afford lawyers that will try to stick it to you. The burden of proof is on the victim.

Bad credit follows you around for a long time. Utilities like cable-TV, telephones, electricity, water etc.. check your credit rating - imagine if you couldn't get electricity because someone stole your identity.

Answer 3

Here are just a few important steps to remember:

• Never provide personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited telephone or Internet request (phishing scams).

• Never provide or share passwords over the phone or in response to an unsolicited Internet request.

• Review account statements regularly to ensure all charges and transactions are correct.

• Use a firewall, anti-virus and spyware protection software at work and at home.

• Use a shredder to dispose of personal or financial information.

• Employees with access to company computers should be educated about the latest threats and scams, and trained to question any suspicious requests for information.

• Be aware that financial institutions will not ask customers to provide sensitive customer information. Sensitive information includes items such as account numbers, date of birth, or social security numbers.

• Order copies of your credit report every three months from the different credit reporting agencies to ensure accuracy.

Online security threats are becoming more and more complex and sophisticated. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued guidance that states single-factor authentication is inadequate for high-risk transactions. This means financial institutions must implement additional authentication controls.

Single-factor authentication is the use of only one recognized identifier for authenticating individuals. Most of us are very familiar with these types of “authentications” which include the use of a password or personal identification number (PIN) when we log on to Internet locations with personally sensitive material.

Systems that require two-factor or dual factor authentication require at least two authentication identifiers, adding another level of protection – such as a selected picture to confirm or a question to be answered – to the normal password or PIN before gaining access to our final destination. This technology is usually referred to as multi-factor or two-factor authentication.

According to proponents, two-factor authentication could drastically reduce the incident of online identity theft and other online fraud, because the victim’s password would no longer be enough to give a thief access to sensitive information.

Several types of multi-factor authentication are available, but the most common of these currently being introduced are as follows:

• User selected SiteKey (picture) enables the customer to identify the financial institution. The customer can choose the verification image from a selected database of digital photos.

• Challenge question (provided by the customer) allows the financial institution to identify the customer.

Behind the scenes risk management (invisible to the customer) include:

• Customer profiling, which allows the financial institution to identify the customer with new technology.

• Transaction monitoring – a non-typical transaction may send up a red flag that prompts the bank to contact the customer by phone to verbally confirm the transaction.

The drawback to the multi-factor authentication is that some consumers have trouble keeping track of yet another means of identification in an age characterized by information overload.

In the coming months, many financial institutions will be implementing this technology to aid in the fight to protect sensitive financial information.

If you are a victim of Identity theft, I would strongly recommend you to contact a good attorney. Try this reliable site for instant legal help.

http://www.legalservices4less.com/identitytheft.htm

Answer 4

It depends on the extent of the theft. I had a debit card number stolen, and it was discovered pretty quickly and cancelled. The thief didn't want my money. They sold the number to someone who used it to buy several small items online to generate commissions for themselves. So I had no effects except a few days of hassle getting everything closed, refunded and reported.

But for people whose bank accounts are cleaned out, social security number stolen, and the thief goes on to apply for credit in their name, it can get a lot worse than that.:
Bill collectors hounding you.
Being turned down for a job for failing a credit check.
Losing money before you discovered the theft
Unable to get a loan for a home, car or school
Unable to get a credit card
High car insurance rates because they base it on your credit score
Time and energy to get it canceled every time they get a new credit card in your name
.

Answer 5

May be asked to pay income taxes on income not earned.
May be asked to pay off credit cards not signed up for.
May be asked to pay off mortgage on house not purchased or be sued for money supposedly paid to you for house bought and sold in your name.
May be charged with crimes done in your name with your id.
May be refused boarding on airline flights or reentry to the US because of crimes or warrants issued in your name
May be refused registration on a car, renewal of drivers license, or voting because of felonies in your name.