Identity theft is best defined as someone pretending to be someone else in order to steal money and obtain other financial benefits. The person whose identity is used is held responsible for all the actions of the one who had pretended to be him.

If you are a victim of identity theft, you could be left with huge amounts of bills, bad credit and the hassle of dealing with financial agencies and police departments to clear your name. This can be a very long and daunting experience.

Do not let this happen to you. As identity theft can happen to anyone, it would be wise for you to be well-informed.

So, how do thieves obtain your personal information?

There are a number of ways by which thieves can get your personal information such as your name, date of birth, address, credit card, social insurance number and other personal identification. When thieves obtain these information, they can easily steal money from your existing accounts, open other financial accounts, make purchases, or even obtain employment by using your identity.

I have written below some of the common ways by which thieves gather your information:

• Going through your trash or what is called as “Dumpster Diving”
• Stealing mails from your mailbox
• Looking over your shoulders either at a bank or a store while you process your credit card
• Searching for your personal information on the Internet
• Posing as an employee from one of your service provider companies over the phone to get your personal information

Of the five common ways mentioned above, it is searching on the internet that is the most scary of all. With all the social networking sites popping up like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc, people do not think twice about sharing personal information. They do so casually without taking into consideration the possible repercussions of sharing these personal information.

Always be careful with what you share and always safeguard your identity. On my next post, I will discuss with you some of the ways by which you can protect yourself against identity theft.

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