October 9, 2009
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News: Protect Your Identity Week
Identify theft is not just a major problem in the United States; it has become one of the world's fastest growing criminal activity. New technology and more sophisticated security systems have made it more and more difficult for thieves to steal credit card numbers. Thieves have resorted to more creative measures to aid them in gaining access to individuals' personal information used to open new credit card and loan accounts. When a criminal steals this information and uses it for their criminal activates, they have stolen your identity. Unlike a credit card account that can easily be shut down to stop any further abuse, when a criminal steals your identity, it allows them to mark your name for years and years to come. It is a violation of great proportion.
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Council of Better Business Bureaus has partnered together to tell you that even the most responsible individuals are at risk for identity theft. The two national organizations have developed an event to help stop these invasive activities of credit card and identity thieves. They will be celebrating the Protect Your Identity Week during the week of October 17th through the 24th. Protect Your Identity Week is aimed at educating consumers on the risks of writing checks, swiping debit and credit cards, and conducting online financial activities.
Americans, who are interested in finding out more on how they can protect themselves from identity theft, can visit the event's website at www.ProtectYourIDNow.org. There, you'll be able to take a quiz to determine what your at-risk factors are for identity theft. You'll also be able to learn more on how to protect yourself. Meanwhile, you can begin taking steps to ensure you do not become a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft by taking caution when throwing out any important papers with personal information; not giving any personal information out over the phone to anyone you don't know; and not falling into the trap of responding to bogus emails online. Whenever in doubt, call you lender or bank of any suspicious activity.