Who is at Risk for Identity Theft

When you reach forty you are usually thinking that your life is in a pretty great spot.  Most who are forty have paid off a majority of debts they have created in their younger days and are financially solvent.  The frightening thing is that those who are forty tend to be victims of credit card fraud over those who are younger.

In recent studies for UK fraud prevention the CIFAS has shown that males who are 47 years or older tend to be more susceptible to fraud, where as women who are 43 years or older tend to be victims of identity theft or credit card fraud.  Other types of fraud that show these same ages include bank account and insurance fraud.  The CIFAS believes that the fraudsters are pretty indiscriminate when it comes to the products they apply for, but the victim is more what they focus on.

Fraud with Identity is a huge business for the fraudsters, according to the recent survey.  It seems that fraud costs the residents about 1.3 billion pounds a year.  The criminals who do commit identity theft do so by accessing personal information.  In other words they will either go through your mail or through other media sources.  A lot of the victims who have been victims of fraud in recent years have received phone calls or emails asking for confirmation of private information.  The fraudsters will call up and act like a representative of a credit card company you are with.  Then they are going to ask for account details they should already have.

When they go through your mail or trash they are looking for bank statements and other documents that have your personal information in which they can use it to open up accounts in your name.  In these cases they open credit cards using your name, but a different address and even a different identification number.

The worst of the fraudsters despite technology have targeted the older individuals because they are easier targets.  All though many of the younger generation spend more time on the internet they are also more careful.  They have learned how to protect themselves through computer programs and are taking an active interest.  This means that those who don’t take the precautions are the ones being targeted.

Those in their twenties and thirties are also freer, which means they are more in debt.  So they don’t have as much ability to get new credit lines as someone who has paid off their debts and has lesser debts to begin with.

Even though the study has shown that those in their forties are more likely to be targeted doesn’t mean you should not take some precautions.  There are several steps that will help you to keep yourself a little safe than others.  To make sure you don’t fall victim here are a few things you should do.

• You need to check your bank statements thoroughly.  This means that you should use the online resources given to you to check your banking information at least on a weekly basis.  You should also make sure that your bank statement you receive monthly is accurate.  You would be surprised at how many individuals don’t check their statements until after they are refused money.  This usually means it is too late.
• You can also change your bank statements to paperless so that they are delivered to you via email and a secure log in.  This way those rooting through trash will not find anything.
• Prevention is of course better than fixing the problem after the fact so use online banking.  It is easy and secure.  More banks are giving you a picture code to verify before you put in your password.  This helps to make it more secure and gives you something to check before entering in the data unlock code.
• You should make sure you have at least one of the latest anti- virus software programs and a firewall on your computer.  There are at least three different programs you can download for anti-virus software.
• You should also use a padlock on your browser.  In other words you make your browser secure for all sites that you visit.  So you should see https:// rather than http://.
• Next you will want to make sure any personal information is locked up in your home or shredded before sending it out to the curb.  Passports, drivers’ licenses, and other things should be kept locked up.
• Lastly to make sure you are safe when you move you need to redirect your mail before you move.  The Royal Mail charges 23.95 pounds to redirect mail for six months.  This will keep the mail from the wrong hands, and make sure you are getting your bills.

There are a few places you can go to reclaim your identity if you have already been a victim.  Credit reporting agencies as well as your government page will help you obtain those steps.