Protect Against
Identity Theft
Identity Theft
Security Center
How do thieves steal an identity?
Identity theft starts with the misuse of your personally identifying information- your name and Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other financial account information. For identity thieves, this information is as good as gold.
Skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods to get hold of your information:
- They may steal your mail, wallet or purse.
- They may get personal information from you by posing as legitimate companies through email, in a practice known as "phishing". Or they might lie to you on the phone.
- They may take your information from businesses or other institutions by stealing personnel records, bribing or conning an employee who has access to these records, or breaking into your records electronically.
Some identity theft victims even report that their information has been stolen by someone they know.