Most of us are somewhat flattered when we realize that someone thinks enough of us that they try to imitate us in one way or another. Of course, there are times when it gets out of hand, and an entire industry is rising up to offer us identity theft protection from illegal imitation. Most of us tend to believe that identity theft is a distant crime that happens to “someone else”, but reality paints a different picture.
The truth is that identity theft protection has become available for one simple reason: it’s necessary. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States, and is also growing rapidly around the world. While you might not mind someone imitating you, you certainly don’t want them imitating you with a credit card.
Don’t get us wrong. If you are the victim of identity theft, the criminal is complementing you, albeit in a rather nasty way. Frankly, identity thieves aren’t interested in stealing the identities of people with don’t pay their bills or who have bad credit. No, they’d much rather steal the identity of upstanding citizens with good credit.
Unfortunately, identity thieves aren’t interested in imitating you for flattery’s sake. We’re talking about your money, your credit, and your good name. Depending on what exactly an identity thief is planning on doing with your information, all of these and more could be at stake.
Some typical things identity thieves do with your information include:
- Take out credit cards in your name.
- Get cash advances on your current credit cards.
- File tax returns.
- Procure false IDs. An identity thief can, for all intents and purposes “become” you in extreme cases.
The worst part about this unflattering form of imitation is that it can take quite some time before you realize what’s going on. Fortunately, companies who specialize in identity theft protection know what to look for and can generally prevent identity theft or, even in the worst case, catch it before the thief has time to do much damage.
Most of us have medical insurance to protect us from the cost of health care, automobile insurance to protect us from the financial liability of an auto accident, and home insurance to protect us against loss of our home. In today’s world, it just makes sense to also insure yourself against identity theft.
