Although the latest comedy, Identity Thief, gives you side-splitting laughs at the ongoing chase between Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, the situation is far from realistic.
For those who are unfamiliar, identity theft, according to the U.S. dept. of Justice, is a crime in which someone obtains and uses another person’s data to commit fraud, typically for economic gain. They can use a person’s identity for different reasons, from using credit cards, creating major debt, or even just to commit crimes under the used name.
Being in high school, students may believe that identity theft cannot happen to them anytime soon. According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, 7% of households in the U.S. (about 8.6 million households), had at least one member age 12 or older who experienced one or more types of identity theft victimization in 2010. This shows that no matter a person’s age or location, anyone could be a target for an identity thief.
A cyber attack on the Basha’s supermarket chains recently stole the credit and debit information of hundreds – if not thousands – of shoppers. English teacher Damien Tippett was a victim of the scam in which the FBI deemed “sophisticated.”
“There was a charge at a California Target for $55,” Tippett said. “The red flag was that both my wife and I had used the same card that morning, so Visa shut the card down and contacted us immediately.
“They said that the trick is a cyber-thief will first purchase something that isn’t too expensive, and if that works, then they start buying the big stuff. Thankfully Visa acted quickly, gave us our money back and had a new card out to us in just a few days.”
The people that commit this crime are good at it. Many victims do not realize they are part of a scam until it is too late. Some identity thieves do it by listening in on conversations where people are giving credit card information over the phone. Another way includes going through personal or communal garbage cans to obtain copies of credit card or bank statements, and any other records that typically bear your name, address, or phone number. These types of records make it easier for criminals to get control over accounts in your name and assume your identity.Whether through the phone, spam e-mails, or in person, if someone’s information is put out there, identity thieves will snatch it like there is no tomorrow.
The thought of having your identity stolen may be scary, there are ways to avoid it. One thing that can be done is be careful about who you give your information to. Checking your financial information regularly will also help make sure everything is where it should and no unusual transactions exist.
As long as these simple steps are maintained, anyone can be prepared when an identity thief comes their way.
