The “Grinch” who (literally) stole Christmas – identity theft – can make the holidays a very un-happy time for its victims.
According to a study from Javelin Strategy & Research, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, with 27.3 million victims in the past five years, and nearly 20 million in the past two years alone. Identity theft costs more than $56 billion – or $6,383 per victim – annually, and an identity thief strikes every 3.5 seconds on average. The Justice Department reports that identity theft has now surpassed drug trafficking as the No. 1 crime in America.
‘Tis the season for identity theft: the holidays show a higher rate of identity theft because people become desperate for the things they want for themselves and their families. The Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) believes financial stress could lead to an increase in identity theft during this holiday season and urges consumers to take extra measures to protect their personal data. Monitoring your own credit report and criminal background check can help you prevent identity fraud, which usually occurs after your identity has been stolen.
Because of increased spending and a rise in the use of credit cards during the holiday season, the growing threat of identity theft looms larger than Santa Claus himself. As a result, privacy rights organizations recommend consumers request their own credit and criminal background checks periodically to monitor information, correct inaccuracies, and uncover identity theft.
While identity theft is a growing problem, there are ways you can protect yourself from the fraudulent use of your personal information. By ordering personal background checks, you can take control over your most sensitive personal information – such as credit scores – and learn who is viewing your reports. These new technologies help keep you one step ahead of would-be ID thieves and are the best chance of avoiding identity theft.
MyBackgroundCheck.com was one of the first consumer-driven web-based background check services available and is now a nationwide leader of the growing trend in personal information control. Please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com to learn how to take total control of your personal information and prevent identity theft.
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As identity theft becomes an escalating risk for Americans, we find that the Oakland Mayor’s office failed to conduct a background check on an intern who turned out to be a known embezzler (SF Gate report here). Patricia Williams allegedly stole the bank account information of 100 donors to their Holiday Toy Drive, stole the identity of a co-worker, and charged over $10,000 on stolen account information.
In a world where private information is so easily obtained and used for fraud, every business, especially government offices, should be conducting background checks. If government offices and businesses are skimping on background checks because of the cost, imagine what this incident cost the Mayor’s office. I wouldn't be surprised if the phones have been ringing off the hook and the attorneys have already moved in for a negligent hiring kill.
Fortunately, there are solutions for those who are victims of identity theft. Because identity theft is the number one crime today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working diligently on solutions to help consumers. By ordering your own credit and criminal background checks you can monitor discrepancies and control who sees your information.
In addition to monitoring your own background checks, the Identity Theft Red Flag Rules issued by the FTC will be going into effect in November. Financial institutions and other users of consumer reports will now have to closely monitor your accounts for identity theft and identity fraud and respond appropriately to prevent and mitigate damages.
Go to www.MyBackgroundCheck.com to learn more about how you can take control of your personal information.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
An article in the Denver Post warns college graduates about the risks of embellishing resumes during the economic downturn. It’s true that the job market is more competitive than ever, the country is experiencing a serious economic crisis, and many companies are laying off or going through acquisitions. To put it lightly, it’s a tough road ahead for anyone seeking employment. However, falsifying your resume is not the answer.
Most employers conduct background checks today (80%) and, although many resumes are not thoroughly checked (according to the Post’s article), you will run the risk of the employer discovering that you misrepresented yourself. Losing a job over something as serious as resume fraud could be detrimental to your career, as most employers check employment references even if they are not conducting other types of background checks.
If there is something that may put you behind on a candidate list, be honest and keep searching for the right job for you. Please read these articles in our newsrooms on job seeking and background checks: http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/newsroom/category/Featured-Articles.aspx.
Graduates can benefit from ordering their own background check before an employer sees it. Inaccuracies on background checks are common and it is wise to correct them before job seeking. MyBackgroundCheck.com offers services that help you manage employment references, criminal background checks, and credit reports, giving you the control to invite employers and others to view your reports over our secure server. These services can help you maintain accurate public information as well as prevent identity theft, the fastest growing crime in America.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
In an era of data breaches and a trend in stolen identity crime rings, it seems no one is secure. A story published today in ConsumerAffairs.com brings the reality of identity theft home to one woman, Suzanne Finch, who has been struggling for over a year to determine the source of a data breach that has altered her life dramatically.
Finch found that a data breach into Citibank’s servers may have been the cause of her personal information being used to open accounts and make purchases she never authorized. But Citibank isn’t admitting to the breach or the cause of the fraud against Finch. For anyone discovering their identity has been stolen, this story is one that leads to no resolve or hope…and government laws that do little to protect identity theft victims.
The only way for individuals to protect their identity is to take control of their personal information. Monitoring your own background checks and credit reports help keep you aware of what is happening to your your accounts before the crime spirals into an uncontrollable dark hole of uncertainty. In a world where good credit is needed to purchase almost anything, or even to obtain some jobs, Americans need to take measures to limit access to their accounts and personal information.
In some cases, stolen identities are used to commit crimes, giving identity theft victims a criminal record. With some 80% of employers conducting background checks, you may not know about this until you apply for a job or get pulled over by a police officer for accidentally running a stop sign.
Please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com for resources and information on taking total control of your personal information.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
June 16, 2008 12:34 by
Admin
Has someone committed a crime in your name? You may not know it until it’s too late. Imagine being stopped by a cop for a broken tail light while on vacation with your family at Disneyworld only to find out that there’s a warrant for your arrest for a DUI charge you never had. Sound preposterous?
Thousands of people each year are victims of criminal identify theft, experts say. Identities are stolen not just to commit identity fraud but to commit or conceal other types of crimes, experts warn.
Monitoring your own personal background check information is one of the most important safeguards from today's fastest growing crime...identity theft.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!