 An identity thief can steal your information in a variety of ways. Below are a few examples of how identity thieves may obtain your personal information.
- Mail-identity thieves steal mail directly from your mailbox. When sending mail, such as bill payments, you could be inadvertently advertising your personal information to potential identity thieves simply by placing the red flag up on your mailbox.
- Trash-identity thieves can steal personal information from documents or other items that you discard. Identity thieves have been known to sort through trash for discarded receipts, credit card statements, bank account statements, credit card applications, and anything else that could contain personal information.
- Wallet or purse-one of the most common ways identity thieves obtain personal information is by stealing your wallet or purse.
- Home-identity thieves can burglarize your home and steal any important documents that they may find, such as credit card statements, bank account statements, check books, Social Security Cards, drivers’ licenses and birth certificates.
- Relatives and friends- a survey commissioned by the Better Business Bureau found that you are just as likely to have your identity stolen by a relative, friend or acquaintance as you are to have it stolen online. Relatives and friends conveniently have access to your personal information and all too often they are the culprit behind identity theft.
- Computer-consumers routinely use personal computers for financial transactions; at the same time, identity thieves are illegally gaining access to computers with the purpose of stealing your personal information.
- Businesses-identity thieves look to businesses as places of opportunity for stealing personal information. Identity thieves can bribe an employee at a business who has access to personal information. In some instances, the employee can steal the personal information and commit identity theft. Also, “security breaches” can occur by illegal access via computer, theft from the place of business, or from identity thieves posing as legitimate business clients.
- E-mail or phone, “phishing,” “pretexting”-identity thieves can send e-mails, posing as legitimate companies, requesting that you verify your personal information. This is known as “phishing.” Legitimate businesses will never request personal information from you by e-mail. Also, identity thieves may call you, posing as a legitimate company, requesting that you verify your personal information, or an identity thief may contact an information source, posing as you, seeking personal information. This is known as “pretexting.”
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