Don’t Let Your Identity Be Taken Away!

Danielle Akers

Identity theft seems to be a newly used term of the twenty first century, but actually the practice of stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be a different person is thousands of years old. Over the past 20 years the concept of stealing identity through credit cards has become very common. In actuality, identity theft is the number one fastest growing crime in America for the seventh year in a row! Warning Signs of Identity Theft by the Federal Trade commission are as follows:

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Calls or letters about purchases you did not make.

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Denials or credit

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Unexpected credit cards or account statements

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Bills that do not arrive as expected

There are several ways to prevent identity theft from happening. It can occur in several different forms. Mrs. Carrier said,

“You can prevent your identity from being stolen through several methods. Make sure you NEVER give out your social security number, birth date, or mother’s maiden name online. ALWAYS look for the “s” in the https:// in web addresses and look for the lock icon on the status bar of all web sites before giving sensitive information or making purchases. In summary, just always be cautious with your identification information-ESPECIALLY online!”

The Federal Trade Commission gives several ways to prevent identity theft on their website www.ftc.gov/idtheft. Some of the tips of ways to prevent identity theft through credit cards and mail includes shredding your financial documents and all your papers with personal information before you throw them away. Don’t carry your social security number around or give it out unless absolutely necessary. You should never click on links sent from unknown e-mails because they could be traps to receiving your personal information. Don’t use obvious passwords like your birth date or your social security number, and you should always keep your personal information in a secure place

If you think your identity has been taken fight against it immediately! Place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit report, close all your accounts, file a police report, and report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission which can help law enforcement officials across the country in their investigation.

Some students across our school think identity theft and the problems it causes should be apart of the curriculum. Senior Heather Joyner said,

“I think we should learn about identity theft in school because it is becoming such a popular problem. People’s lives get ruined everyday and people need to know about it.”

Identity theft is a growing problem, but can easily be prevented. Just follow our guidelines and you should be safe from identity stealers!