Personal Prevention of Identity Theft Essay - 886 Words

Personal Prevention of Identity Theft Today in the United States there is a crime that every citizen faces having committed against them and that is the crime of identity theft. Identity theft is the theft of ones personal identifying information such as ones name, address, date of birth, credit card numbers, bank information, and most of all social security number (National Insurance Crime Bureau, 2000). With the modernization of our world it has became easier for would be identity thieves to commit their crime. There are many basic steps that one can do to help prevent themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft is a growing business in the United States. It is now the most common form of consumer†¦show more content†¦The most vital piece of personal information that one needs to protect is their social security number. Social security numbers exist for the purpose of tracking earnings and for paying benefits and was originally signed into existence by President Franklin Roosevelt. This was enacted so that federal agencies could use social security numbers for their record keeping systems and were not meant to be used by businesses as identifiers, but have taken on this role of identifiers because every person has their own unique number (Bruce, 2003). Because legally no one needs your social security number except government agencies, and a few businesses such as banks, one should be very careful in allowing anyone else to have it. The fact that each person has their own unique and different social security number is what makes is such a valuable piece of personal information. One must remember that the more people who see your social security number the more susceptible one becomes to identity theft (Bruce, 2003). Thus, the first and most important way to safeguard ones identity from theft is to protect ones social security number and to remember that by law very few businesses have the right to ask you for this number. One also must be diligent about protecting other personal information, such as credit card information and bank account information. The best ways to protect this type of information is to make sure that all records involving any type of personalShow MoreRelatedThe Prevention And Control Of Medical Identity Theft1441 Words   |  6 PagesThe Prevention and Control of Medical Identity Theft INTRODUCTION Identity theft is the fastest growing crime that continues to claim thousands of victims each year. It is the deliberate use of someone else s identity without their knowledge or consent to gain a financial advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person s name, and perhaps to the other person s disadvantage or loss. 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