Legal Niches

Recent figures suggest that an American identity thief has a one in seven hundred chance of being caught. Combine this with the immense profitability of the crime and it is not hard to see the appeal to criminals and 'everyone else' who uses money.

Identity theft is based around the power in the modern world of the credit score. A good credit rating offers the holder the potential to borrow tens or even hundreds of thousands at virtually no notice. With the vast numbers of credit and store cards that are available to us, it is possible for a thief to apply for multiple cards at once, tear through the credit to it's limit and then move on to a new target in just a few months.

This means that personal information is now a very valuable commodity. Too many of us barely give a thought to this information, but to an identity thief, this is perfect.

The facts that fraudster needs to get started are actually minimal. With name, address, date of birth and telephone number they can begin the process of assessing us as a target. If we are appealing, the fraudster needs to discover our social security details and anything else that they can. As bizarre as this may sound, to some online stores, a fraudster already has enough to obtain goods in another name!

For the individual, basic preparation is all that can really be done to prevent this crime. We simply need to make it as hard as we can as a target and hope that the fraudster will leave us alone and move onto one of the other millions of people who is less prepared.

The steps needed to take basic precautions are actually remarkably simple.

Firstly, it is vital that our waste documents are disposed of carefully. This means buying and using a shredding machine, preferably a cross cut beast that turns our bills into dust.

Secondly, our computers need to be heavily guarded against intruders. This means anti-virus software and strong firewalls. Ideally, the software needs to be updated as often as is possible. The phishers and pharmers of this world have incredible knowledge, skills and software which we will almost certainly fail to protect against.

It is also important to request credit report details on a very regular basis and keep a close watch on the numbers.

Lastly, though we could always do more, it is wise to stop giving sensitive personal details to others who probably do not need them. This means when we are asked for our social security details, we need to ask one telling question, 'Why?'. If the response is not to your satisfaction, start refusing to provide details.

As frightening as it may sound, the weak link in our defence could be anyone. We may be targetted by a professional criminal, a shop assistant, a receptionist, a waiter or even a relative. All we can reasonably do is make ourselves difficult targets.

Good luck and we hope that you will not become a victim of this horrible crime...