| The Most Common Ways Identity Is Stolen According to the Federal Trade Commission, as many as nine million Americans a year become victims of identity theft. Criminals use stolen personal information to obtain credit card or utility accounts, rent an apartment, or open a bank account. Sometimes the resulting damage can take months or even years to completely erase from a victim’s financial history.
Though methods of identity theft are always evolving, here are some of the more common ways that thieves obtain personal data: Personal documents taken from your trash: Identity thieves may go through your trash to look for old utility bills or credit card offers you have thrown away. Personal documents taken from your mail: Instead of waiting for your personal documents to end up in the trash, thieves opt to steal bills right from your mail. Some even submit change of address forms to the post office to have your mail diverted to another address. Personal documents taken from company records: Not all employees can be trusted; some may use access to company records to steal or sell your information. Emails requiring you to enter identifying data: Called “phishing”, scammers send emails posing as your bank, utility company, or online vendor, asking you to submit private account info for confirmation purposes. Victims are diverted to websites that look very much like the company website they are used to, but are actually dummy sites created to steal personal information. Criminology Research Project, Inc offers additional information, at no cost, on the subject of identity theft. To receive this information contact: Dr. Edward Blackwelder Criminology Research Project, Inc. At or
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