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What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft is the crime of stealing private information (such as your name, social security number, or credit card number) to commit Internet Fraud or other crimes.
An estimated 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year. Victims of identity theft often don't realize that their information has been stolen until they look at a credit card statement or credit report full of charges they never made. Once your identity has been stolen, you may need to spend hundreds of dollars and make dozens of phone calls to clear your good name and financial records. In extreme cases, the havoc identity thieves wreak on your credit rating can make you unable to qualify for loans or obtain good employment.
- Read More About Identity Theft
- How to Prevent Identity Theft
- So, what do I do if I suspect my identity has already been stolen?
Concerns for Parents
- While identity theft is a major Internet Safety issue, this is one area where kids don't need to be as concerned as their parents do. While there are shocking cases of children's identities being used for fraudulent purposes, these cases only make up about 5% of all identity theft cases.
- YOU should be aware of how to keep yourself safe from identity theft, however. Please take a look at the full Internet Safety Wiki article for more information.
How Can I Keep My Child Safe?
- Teach your children to safeguard personal information online. By establishing good habits early on, they will be prepared to face the scams and dangers that await them once they come of credit card-wielding, Social Security number-knowing age.
Check Your Credit Report for Free
There are three agencies that will allow you to pull your credit report once a year for free. If you stagger these you can check your credit report for free every four months.
If you think your identity has been compromised, you can have these agencies put a fraud alert on your name.
Where Can I Learn More?
Check out these identity theft resources. Note that many identity theft protection services are available. For a fee, they will keep track of what purchases and accounts are made in your name. The links below will take you to websites about preventing identity theft in general rather than anti-identity theft services.
