Identity Theft

Reporting Identity Theft is no joke; it's a crime which has seen a rise in recent years and has actually destroyed the lives of tens of thousands. Seeing as how we are now living in a world dominated by technology which allows us to manipulate reality through a virtual interface (such as one can do with computers, for example) it comes as no surprise that more and more people have their identities stolen every day; the technological progress only makes it easier for the criminals.

Reporting ID theft as fast as possible is possibly the most important course of action you will undertake if you are ever a victim of it, or even if you are only a witness. Reporting identity theft in a prompt manner will ensure that the thief can no longer do any damage to or your reputation. For those of you unfamiliar with what exactly this crime is or still unsure of why reporting identity theft is so important, bear in mind that an ID thief basically steals vital information about other people which he can then use to open credit accounts and even take out bank loans, all of it under someone else's name. The information that can be stolen includes (but is not limited to) your social security number, medical information, drivers license as well as any personal details that you use to prove your identity.

If you still see no reason for reporting identity theft, then you are rolling the dice that nothing is going to happen. While it is true that there are some safeguards in place in order to protect people from such a crime, it would be a lie to say that they are always 100% effective, seeing as how people are reporting identity theft cases more frequently than before. In many cases, credit companies will simply give an application the stamp of approval without performing any investigation on the applicant.

If you want protection from ID theft chances are you will have to take some measures of your own, and most important of all, stay aware of any activity on your accounts so that you can start reporting identity theft soon after it happens. Naturally, the steps related to reporting identity theft are quite simple. The first thing you need to take care of is to contact the fraud departments of your banks and credit bureaus to let them know what's going on.

Once they identify you as a victim of ID theft your file will be put on fraud alert. After you are done reporting identity theft to the proper authorities, you should order credit report copies pertinent to your name to see if any additional credit accounts have been opened by the criminal. If you do find that unfortunately additional credit accounts have been opened under your name, you are going to have to start reporting identity theft to all your creditors. Insist on talking with the fraud department, and make sure you also send a certified letter after the call, seeing as how protection procedures require for problem-solving to be done by writing. Finally, the last step to reporting identity theft is to come into contact with the local authorities so that you can file a report with them. This is mostly to have proof should any of your creditors ask for it.

Carl Clifford is a well respected Legal and Identity Theft Specialist who's been consistantly up to date on knowledge in the arena of Identity Theft Protection for individuals, families and companies since 2000. To claim a F-R-E-E copy of Insider Secrets on how to protect your Identity go to his website now. http://www.7idtheftsecrets.com/

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