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I left off in part 1 of this topic about protecting yourself against identity theft, promising to give you one more of the angles used by these bandits to steal/take over your good name and credit and ruin your financial life.  At least cause you massive financial pain  for the next year or years!  By being more aware, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself and avoid the problem that so many American's are currently trying to deal with and fix.  It's another low tech technique where they employ a high tech device to pull it off.  Similar (but not the same) to a good pick pocket thief who takes your wallet and you never realize it happened til way too late.-Read on, I promise it's revealed a little later in the story..................Please indulge me.

Now put yourself at the scene of the crime - Have you ever been waiting to use the ATM and it's busier than usual, people chattering, etc. - and when you finally step up to the next available ATM, you for some odd reason feel like the guy or gal who's behind you is a little too close, so you shift your body a little trying to block the screen? Has that ever happened to you?  You have an inner conversation with yourself and rationalize that you're just being overly paranoid and go about your business forgetting all about it in a short time. 

NOW Fast Forward a few months to a year -  You get a call and are informed that your Visa issuer has suddenly lowered or suspended your credit line and has suspended any further charges. And This is Only The Very Tip of The Iceburg, ironically from Hell........ Upon further investigation you also learn that your credit scores that were once 745 are now suddenly at 540 and headed much, much lower.  You do some checking now and find that a dozen  new credit accounts have recently been opened in Your name and are reporting with the 3 major credit bureaus And have maxed out balances totalling 10's of thousands of dollars!  Oh, and your most recent Experian report shows you having another more recent address??!!  Mail being forwarded with a change of address form from your current address to a P.O. Box that is now  probably vacated.  How can this be happening you say -  You bought that cross-cut shredder last year to shred all older and discarded personal documents no longer needed & you don't carry your S.S. card in your wallet/purse or car.  

Sadly, there is no full-proof plan of defense against this growing problem for honest, hard-working American's.  It's sort of like a car thief - if he wants your particular car, locked or unlocked he's probably going to get it.  But thief's are lazy and if your car's locked next to the unlocked one, he's probably not going to steal your car.   I'll cover Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes in an upcoming blog, read on.

Sharing some knowledge and information to use in the real world and hearing others feedback on these same subjects and topics is my goal and why I started this blog.........

Now it's gettin' to the really Good Part;   Here's what has happened to our victim -  You were recently what is called "Profiled" by a crook who targeted you for your good credit and name (Identity) -  and some bad luck thrown in too.

The identity thief targets and acquires your S.S. # and birth date, the two most important pieces of the scam, using either hi-tech or low-tech means.  The statistics still show the lower tech methods being used most often.  The cell phone capture technique at the ATM is mostly used for also stealing whatever actual cash you have in your bank accounts. Once the thief has your S.S. # and d.o.b. your password is the  key that unlocks their (yours!!)  pot 'o' gold.  Did you know it is not uncommon for most folks to use the same password for multiple accounts?  Mix them up every now and then or just change them all from time to time. It won't change anything with the cell phone scenario, but it will add some online protection. 

And Lastly;

Here's a couple of hi-tech methods used.  One is used in a lo-tech manner though -

1)  One source used to steal your credit and identity is obviously the internet or more specifically your email account.  You've no doubt heard of "phishing"?  You receive an innocuous email that states it's from your bank or credit union needing to update their records. Logos and FDIC insured logo's look authentic.   Another hi-tech method is the Cell Phone (from my little re-enactment earlier) with camera/video. The thief will take pics or video of your ATM screen and keypad as you punch in your password.  The Same Screen they're shooting video or stills from just over your shoulder and out of your line of sight.  Oh Yes, they're very good at being criminals.  Lazy does not equal dumb! 

This basic lo-tech method was explained in part one of this topic a few weeks ago,  but bears repeating;   Down and dirty, dumpster diving in alleys behind medical, dental, tax and law offices.  You'd be stunned to learn what extremely personal and confidential information about you, just flat out, slips through the cracks, not being properly locked away or thrown away! 

Knowledge is Power Especially when it's shared.  You all have something I can also learn from.  Even after 25 years in the mortgage industry, I still learn new things and get great ideas from others!!  That's the fun part of this business - and any of my associates in the mortgage or real estate biz will agree - we could use a little more fun right now, how 'bout it !!   Thanks for reading my blog, hope it got your attention to keep your eyes open physically and financially!!Please add your two cents in a relevent comment. Or if you or someone you know was a victim of Identity Theft -  Please share their story and what they are doing or did to cope with and repair the damage. Part 3 of this subject will cover the "Remedy Process"  so please check back..............................