Ways to prevent identity theft

Identity theft is a crime that can be very destructive as it ruins your credit while at the same time, you may lose your home. Over the years, identity theft has grown very fast and expanded to real estate and mortgage industry also. People need to be extra careful as identity theft has become an easy means of making good cash for dishonest individuals. As a result identity theft protection has become increasingly important in our everyday life.

What is Identity Theft?

When someone gathers personal information of an individual and uses it to commit fraud, it is termed as identity theft. In most cases, personal information includes name, date of birth, bank account number, credit card password etc. Though credit card identity theft is considered to be the most common form of identity theft, nowadays, id theft occurs in the mortgage and real estate industry too.

How identity theft works in mortgage?

Identity theft mostly works with help of updated technology such as Internet and credit cards. Declared as a criminal offense, identity theft can cost its victims huge financial loss. Identity theft in mortgage is the most horrifying fraud for any individual where his property can get sold off without his knowledge. There is another form of mortgage identity theft where an individual provides false information about himself to avail mortgage loans. Identity theft frauds involve individuals who work in groups.

Here are some more details about id theft in mortgage industry:

Sources and techniques: The sources and techniques used by the ID theft frauds to gather personal information are stated below:

• Emails and various public dump sites
• Public records and government registers
• Stealing identification cards
• Eavesdropping at public place
• Hacking through computer
• Advertising fake job offers to get CVs
• Social networking sites

Targets of mortgage identity theft: It has been noted by experts that mortgage identity theft often occurs with senior citizens. They have stated 2 reasons as to why aged people are aimed for fraud. It has been seen that senior citizens are mostly established homeowners with more equity. The second reason is because senior citizens do not take enough precautions against frauds.

According to the statistics of FTC Report 2004, $429 million has been stolen in mortgage identity theft. Countries with high identity theft percentage are California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

What are the ways to prevent identity theft?

To avoid identity theft, it is very important to take necessary measures. Given below are 7 ways to prevent identity theft:

1. Share your personal information with the right person: Disclose your personal information only to that person who is entitled to such information. Reveal personal details only if it’s required for any transaction.
2. Try not to refinance often: If you refinance your mortgage too often, there is chance that your personal information may get known to many people which can lead to identity theft.
3. Don’t take your personal documents while traveling: Never carry documents of personal information while traveling. It can get stolen or misplaced. If the documents fall in the hand of scammers, it can lead to identity theft easily.
4. Monitor the identity of people entering your house: Keep check on who’s entering your house. Never keep your personal documents scattered in front of outsiders such as babysitters, window washers, maids etc.
5. Inform in case of any personal changes: Information, such as the death of a person, should be immediately notified to the concerned person. If not informed at the right time, it can lead to identity theft for passport, driving license, loans and many more.

For victims of identity theft, it becomes very difficult to get any new loan or credit card as their credit ratings get badly affected. To avoid being a victim, protect your private information and be aware of the ways to prevent identity theft.