More than 9 million individuals become an identity theft victim every year. The damage done by this act both financially and emotionally is severe and far-reaching. The following will look into ways to avoid being the next target of an identity theft scheme to ensure that no one else will have to pay the price for it.
Pittsfield, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/26/2012 -- Personal identity theft is rapidly becoming the fastest-growing crime in the United States. The harm this does to a person’s finances can range from $1,800 to $15,000, and 9-18% of identity theft victims don’t know the crime has happened to them for 4 years or longer, giving the thief ample time to establish an atrocious credit record for the victim and a nice, free existence for themselves. The time involved for a victim to repair the damage done to his credit score and reputation can vary from as little as 3 hours, for a credit card theft, for instance, to over 5,000 hours when an identity thief uses one’s SSN to create an “evil twin” of sorts. Many of these people don’t know where to turn once the theft has occurred, which contributes to feelings of helplessness and frustration. Here is a bit of guidance to help these folks after they’ve been victimized by this theft.
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Going to the local police department to report the theft is the best place to begin. Police take the occurrence of this crime very seriously, with more than 55% of officers filing an incident report. These officers then follow up on whatever information they find and actually arrest a supposed identity thief 18% of the time. This gives an identity theft victim some sense of justice, even if it takes the police months to find out who caused all this trouble for them. Although contacting the credit reporting bureaus is the next step to take when this crime happens, most victims find it difficult to speak to a live person when doing so. However, writing letters of dispute to the bureaus can be very helpful – if one is diligent and persistent about following up on them. Send in these letters as many times as necessary to get them the attention they deserve. Much of the time, up to 20% of the fraudulent items on one’s credit report will be removed from it when one pursues the disputes. It takes some time, but recovering from identity theft can be done when one utilizes the resources available to help.
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