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Jackie here. We talk a lot about checking your credit report and bank statements for signs of ID theft, but making fraudulent charges on your accounts isn’t the only way thieves can use your identity. Thieves also love using not-so-well-known methods for theft as they can often avoid detection for much longer. Which of these types of identity fraud were you aware of?
Health Insurance
Medical care can be expensive, making health insurance a gold mine for thieves. Thieves can steal your insurance information and pretend to be you at the doctor or pharmacy. This isn’t just a financial nightmare; it can also lead to serious medical problems including cancelled insurance and conflicting medical records (which can lead to treatment difficulties).
Medical ID theft is surprisingly common. It is estimated that at least 2.3 million American adults have fallen victim to medical ID theft and the number continues to grow. Resolution is difficult too. Only 10% of respondents in a Ponemon survey had satisfactorily resolved their problem.
Criminal Record
Some thieves commit criminal ID theft by giving another person’s name, driver’s license number, or SSN during a criminal investigation. This can lead to arrest warrants in your name for crimes you didn’t commit. Although this type of ID theft is concerning, it is luckily rather uncommon. Here are some tips if you do find yourself in trouble.
Social Media Accounts
Your social media accounts are vulnerable to hacking. Thieves can gain control of your accounts and use them to solicit money from friends and to spread malware and other harmful links. Hacking your actual accounts isn’t the only way thieves take advantage of your identity on social media; some thieves create secondary accounts using your name and your pictures to trick friends into “friending” you so the scammers can attempt to take advantage of them.
Tax Refund
Tax ID theft topped the list of FTC consumer complaints in 2014, with the problem only expected to continue growing. Tax ID theft occurs when thieves file taxes in your name and take your refund. One of the best ways to fight this problem is to be sure you file early.
Your Computer
Are identity thieves lurking in your computer? Thieves use malware, ransomware, and other types of malicious software to take over your computer. Thieves can track your typing to obtain your login credentials, lock up your computer until you pay a fee, and redirect you to their websites when you browse the web. Antivirus software is essential, as is keeping up on your updates. Here are some more tips for keeping your computer ID theft free.
Other Methods
While the methods listed above are some of the larger problems when it comes to lesser known types of ID theft, they aren’t the only things to watch out for. Thieves may also take advantage of your frequent flier miles, hotel points, gift cards, chat programs, etc. If it’s valuable, odds are thieves have found a way to take advantage.