Image by Thiru Murugan via Flickr
Identity theft can primarily be of 5 types; they are:
Credit card thefts: When your card is not swiped in front of you, there are chances that you become a victim of this mode of identity theft. This happens mostly when you pay your restaurant bills with credit cards. To avoid any such situation, you must make sure that you pay the bill directly at the counter.
Driver’s license thefts: Never allow the driver’s license to get out of your possession; keep it in a secret place. If the information available on your driver’s license gets stolen, there are possibilities that the person stealing the information commit driving violations using those facts and you get penalized in turn.
Social security number thefts: This form of identity theft can cause major problems for you. To avoid it, you must disclose your social security number wisely. Never mention the number on forms if not absolutely necessary.
Criminal identity thefts: It has become extremely common for malevolent individuals to commit offenses under false identities. Eventually, when these people get caught, they produce their own identification documents. This means the person, whose identity was used by the crook while committing the crimes will eventually be taken into custody by the police and the actual lawbreaker will stay free.
Medical identity thefts: This is probably the most critical one among the different kinds of identity thefts prevalent in today’s society. Often people practicing high-risk lifestyles don’t go for medical checkups under their own identity. They get the tests done using someone else’s identity to make sure that their medical records stay clean.
