Identity Theft Scams

Identity theft scams tend to come in two main types.

The first, and a sizeable percentage of these crimes, is that of the amateur. Often they are committed by someone that you know. Perhaps it is a friend, relative or work colleague. They are a part of your life and as such have information or access that others do not.

Perhaps they know that your date of birth is your bank account pin number (you didn't know that we knew that did you?) and they know your birthday because they buy you a card and present. Then one day, they find themselves stood alone in a room with your cashcard. It is very tempting. Many people cannot resist.

The average loss through identity theft, in the UK for example, is £2,500 per victim. These smaller, more amateurish and opportunistic crimes are the ones that lower the average.

The second and more costly group of identity theft scams are the people who do this as their main occupation. These are the people to be frightened of.

They are far more sophisticated and operate as a business. To them, this is business. You and I are just numbers, marks.

There modus operandi differs from group to group, and these are explored in more depth elsewhere on this site, but the results are far more frightening.

They will often try to build a complete identity of fake or stolen documents. They will open bank accounts, credit and store cards, perhaps they will even take car financing. They do these things to maximise their payout. People who are victims of these types of crime usually find the debts accrued in their names to be for tens of thousands!!

This is why it is so vita that you take the necessary steps to protect yourself from identity theft scams.

Cick here to go back to look at an identity theft case

Click here to read about a professional identity thief