Has anyone ever been a victim of identity theft? What are some things to look out for? Any good references?

Question

Has anyone ever been a victim of identity theft? What are some things to look out for? Any good references?

Answer 1

I've never been a victim (yet), but I have prosecuted quite a few cases involving various types of identity theft, and it seems to be one of the scariest crimes for victims to deal with--knowing that someone whom you've never even met has casually decided to destroy your life can be pretty terrifying.

My personal suggestions would be to basically do your best to be diligent about your personal finances, mail, and other paperwork:

--have your mail sent to a P.O. box so no one but you can get it out of the mailbox;

--cut down on the number of credit card accounts, lines of credit, etc. that you have;

--make sure you check your credit reports for any unauthorized activity;

--check immediately into anything odd you may receive in the mail, etc. that suggests you have a business relationship with a company you're not aware of (but be careful when doing this not to give any information such as your credit card or social security number, since sometimes these letters, calls, or emails are scams designed to get that info from you;

--never, ever, ever give any such information out over the phone or by email to anyone who has contacted you (if the call or email is legitimate, you should be able to contact the company by their main phone number or website and in that way determine if the person trying to contact you actually works for the company at all--if they do, it's pretty unlikely they'd need any information you'd feel uncomfortable giving out (you can always ask to talk to a supervisor);

--if you get any email or other solicatations for something that seems too good to be true ("please just cash this check for me and send me half the money, and you can keep the other half for your trouble"), chances are it's a scam--contact your local police department and ask them for advice.

Here's a link to an identity theft website set up by the Texas Attorney General's Office that has quite a bit of information on it that will be useful regardless of where you may live: http://www.texasfightsidtheft.gov/

Good luck!