What is Identity theft ?

   "Identity theft" – also known as ID theft, identity fraud and ID fraud – describes a type of fraud where a criminal adopts someone else’s identity in order to profit illegally. It is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in many developed countries.

  In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500% each year and, according to Which Magazine, 25% of the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.
In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being estimated at $52.6 billion.

  With figures like this, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of concern regarding computer and internet security. After all, the internet is basically a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some of the information exchanged may be more than intended is never far from many internet user’s minds.

  It’s easy to imagine criminal masterminds worldwide using the internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their devilishly cunning schemes. However, as revealed in the report, the facts of the matter are a little more down to earth and the internet, far from making you more at risk to identity theft, can help to significantly cut your losses if you do fall victim this form of fraud.

  According to the Better Business Bureau’s research the main methods by which criminals gain access to information used for identity theft fraud are as below:

Lost or stolen wallet, chequebook or credit card. 28.8%

Accessed as part of a transaction. 12.9%

Accessed by friend, acquaintance or relative. 11.4%

Don't know, refused, no answer. 11.1%

Information accessed by corrupt employee. 8.7%

Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0%

Obtained some other way. 7.4%

Computer spyware. 5.2%

Information stolen from garbage. 2.6%

Computer viruses and/or hackers. 2.2%

Emails sent by criminals posing as legitimate business. 1.7%

12.9% due to transactions – 10.4% offline transactions, 2.5% online transactions.

   In total, when the instances where information was accessed during transactions are subdivided into online and offline transactions, only 11.6% of the information used to carry out identity theft fraud was obtained from computers.

   Of this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking – the risk of which can be greatly reduced by installing the appropriate protection software and ensuring that this is kept up to date.

   Not only did the survey reveal that the internet was not a major source of illegally obtained personal information, but it was also found that those fraud victims who checked their financial records using the internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses which were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts. This very significant reduction was attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud due to “real time” monitoring.

   Of course, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t exercise caution when using the internet or take care to protect the personal information which you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and spyware protection, and keep this continually updated the internet can should be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to avoiding identity fraud.

Prevention of Identity Theft on the Road in Hotels, Bars and Restaurants

  It is no secret that identity theft is on the rise. Walk into any big box office supply store and you will mounds and mounds of paper shredders meant to shred your personal documents and letters making it harder for an identity thieve to obtain your vital personal information.

   Sure you are safe at home and at the office but what about on the road, on your vacation, travel for work and conventions, and in hotels, bars and restaurants?

  To begin with what is "identify theft"? Identity theft is where an "identity thief" commits fraud and indeed other crimes by assuming (or copying) your personal identity. Such information as your name, birth date, address, and social insurance, charge cards, banking account numbers and other information and identification can later be used to impersonate you for the purposes of stealing or acquiring even more money through access to your accounts, opening up accounts in other forms and banking and credit institutions.

   Amazingly some identity thieves will even seek "gainful" employment under your name and identity. At the end of the you guess who will be asked to pay the income taxes on those earnings? You of course.

   The amount of time that you will spend explaining yourself and your predicament to the I.R.S. among others will be more than substantial. Often as well many organizations will take an approach of pay up now and "we will (of course) refund your money after proper and full documentation is given". Lots of luck and lots of fun.

  The summary is that if you are a victim of identity theft, you could be left with bills, bad credit and the hassle of dealing with financial agencies and police departments to clear your name. In addition dealing with the IRS can come into the picture as well.

  What can you do to protect yourself against identity theft when traveling on the road and in distant hotels, bars and restaurants? First of all when you return from your trip always verify charges and bills. Keep receipts for cross referencing. You may want to check your credit statement and charges online ahead of time, rather than waiting for your hard copy bill to arrive by snail mail or email.

   This way you may catch mistakes ahead of time and nip problems in the "bud". Add in the logistics of distance factors, time changes, staffing and phone bills and it becomes almost a nightmare. Indeed for some charges you may feel that it is not worth the time effort and costs.

  First of all always ensure that after transactions that you have received the correct credit card in return by serving staff personnel and that you have not received other persons by mistake or on purpose. Next ensure that you do not leave personal documents or information just "lying "around your hotel or hotel meeting rooms.

  Its not a question of hotel staff - who may well be carefully screened and hired for personal honesty and integrity - but rather just "anybody" or " anyone" who can just be strolling down the hall or indeed be trolling or on the prowl.

  Similarly computers left on and unprotected are targets as well. It's not the computer so much now, but rather the data on it that is most valuable. On top of that if the computer is left behind and untouched, a sense of safety, honesty and data integrity is afforded to the victim, who may not know that their vital data, documentation and financial records and passwords have, been sequestered.

  All it takes is a split second and a run of the mill USB flash memory drive and all over. Shortly your credit card data, passwords or worse may be sold to thieves and emailed anywhere in the world. It's best to employ some type of password entry to your computers, cell phone and blackberries and as well not leave such information in clear view.

  You may think that it should be the responsibility of the hotel and its staff to protect you in such matters. If identity theft occurs to you in this manner you may well think that you can sue the hotel and that the hotel should compensate you for you troubles and more. On top of everything else you may demand an all expense paid trip to Hawaii in the hotel chains 4 star resort. Lots of luck.

   While it may be true that hotels and the service industry are most concerned about their reputation and maintaining high service levels in their hotels and establishments they can only do so much , and provide a certain level of safety and security. It's up to you to protect yourself.

   Imagine the wasted time, energy and cost you can save yourself by being vigilant and proactive when it comes to your own security and protecting yourself from identity theft while traveling on the road - whether it be in hotels and restaurants - either for business travel or for your personal vacations.