Identity Theft: How it Works
Identity Fraud vs. Identity Theft
Approximately 8.1 million Americans or 3.5% of the total U.S. population learned that
they were victims of identity fraud in 2010.* Identity fraud is the use of someone
else's personal information for gain-the act of obtaining that information is the work
of identity thieves.
However, many acts of identity fraud are not committed by identity thieves. Identity
thieves often harvest as much personal information as they can and sell it to the
highest bidder. That is why an act of identity fraud once discovered, is often far
removed from the actions of the identity thief who acquired your personal information.
Document Shredding for Identity Protection
Even in our digitized world, physical documents accounted for 43% of all identity
theft, while online methods accounted for only 11% in 2009.* We often don't realize
how much personal information is contained in documents we discard. A habit of
regularly shredding documents is one of the easiest ways to prevent identity theft.
But paper is so prominent in our everyday lives, what exactly do we need to shred?
Anatomy of an Identity Theft, or What's In Your Dumpster?
Identity thieves can piece together your identity from discarded documents found at
one location, sometimes in the same garbage bag.
**Profile of John Smith from Recovered Dumpster Documents
- Copy of Restaurant Credit Card Sales Receipt: credit card number
- Old Pay Stub: full name, address, social security number, your employer
-
Pieces of Torn-Up Cancelled Check: the pieces, put back together, reveal bank
account number
*Javelin Research Group