Identity Theft

How a Thief Steals Your Identity

How Identity Theft Occurs

Other means of acquiring your personal information:

Stealing records from an employer.

Acting in collusion with an employee of a company or organization which has legitimate access to records.

Obtaining credit reports by abusing their employer’s authorized access to credit reports.

Impersonating someone such as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legal right to the information.

Hacking into a company or organisation which has your records on file, for example, a bank or a Govt. Department.

More common methods of stealing your personal credit card information:

Rummaging through your household trash, or the trash of businesses or dumps in a practice known as "dumpster diving."

Stealing credit and debit card numbers as your card is processed for a normal transaction by using a special information storage device concealed on their person. The credit card is quickly swiped through a small device, known as a "skimmer". These devices typically store the details of several hundred credit cards. As soon as possible, the "skimmer" device gets uploaded to a computer where other criminals process the information.

Stealing wallets and purses containing identification and credit and bank cards.

Stealing mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information.
Completing a "change of address form" to divert your mail, and therefore critical information, to another location.

Theft of personal information from your home.