Identity Theft Scams and Some Tips to Avoid Them

Identity theft scams continue to sprout and flourish on the Internet. One of the most common identity theft scam is where a site sells items that are in high demand at a measly cost. In fact, it's so low, even the manufacturer's website will list a higher price.

Often times, you are told to pay nothing, until you receive the goods. Meanwhile, the scammer uses your name and a credit card number belonging to someone else, to buy the item at a totally legitimate website.

Once you're notified the item's been shipped, you'll either transfer payment directly to the scammer, or authorize your credit card to be billed. But what you'll not know is that the scammer has now framed you - while he gets away scot free with all of your money, he's made sure you'll be in receipt of merchandise that's been stolen.

Another identity theft scam that you need to be wary of is this - someone you've never heard of before will get in touch with you via email, claiming to be from PayPal, Ebay, your credit card company or your internet service provider.

The scammer will send you an email stating that your account details need verifying, and give you various reasons why you need to do so. For example, they'd either claim that their database has crashed, or their files were hacked into, or that someone has attempted to steal your personal details......so they'd like to verify your information to protect your account.

Next, the thief uses the information you supply to 'verify' your account and run up fraudulent charges that could prove to be very costly for you.

So keep in mind never to give out your private information to companies that already have it. If you receive a suspicious email, first contact the company mentioned in it for verification purposes, before giving out confidential details about yourself.

Now, in order to avoid falling victim to identity theft scams, you'll need to educate yourself on how you can protect yourself from it:

1. Regularly check your credit reports from all of the 3 major credit bureaus to see if everything is accurate. In case you come across any errors, dispute it immediately. This way, you'll be protected against an identity theft scam.
2. Never give out your personal info to people via email, on the internet or over the phone. Many identity thieves will claim to be from the police, your local bank or even from the government.
3. Do not use common numbers such as the last 4 digits of your SSN (social security number) for your ATM password.
4. Do not give out your SSN unless it's necessary. Your financial institution, employer and doctor all need it for identification purposes and for tax reporting. If anybody else requests your social security number, be on alert and always ask them why they need it.
5. Check all of your bills every month and go over them carefully, because identity thieves can steal your credit card statements.

Finally, for full protection against identity theft scams, make sure you keep all of your personal information as private as possible.