Identity fraud is not at all a new story. Given the modern issues nowadays related to the advancements in information and communication technologies, a lot of information campaigns have already been conducted with the objective of providing people with sufficient awareness about these things. However, considering the rampant growth in internet applications and programs, a lot of people easily become fascinated with these developments without clearly understanding the risks these programs bring. The Internet appears to be an endless avenue of possibilities. Brilliant minds have already come up with helpful tools that make people’s daily lives easier through the wonders of the World Wide Web.

However because more and more people use the Internet in their everyday lives, culprits view this era as a great window of opportunity. As more people share files and information through the network, hackers rejoice and take advantage of people’s naivety when it comes to the advanced systems that enable them to get into their personal information flawlessly. This is identity theft. With this comes a growing concern: How safe are information technologies nowadays? What are the basics of this rising problem and what are the effects of identity theft?

How Identity Theft can affect your Life

A lot has been said about identity theft and how it happens. However, a lot of people still need a thorough understanding on what it can do to them exactly.
Identity theft is a product of loosely moderated access to information through the internet. Identity theft happens when a person uses someone else’s information to gain access to financial accounts or to cause harm. The Federal Trade Commission notes that it can happen from simple, low-tech practices such as penetrating someone’s email account and stealing bank account information and social security numbers. The user may not immediately realize or notice that his or her personal information has been stolen. This is where the horror starts.

Once culprits get access to your personal information, they can use it in different ways and for different purposes. One, they can apply for a loan or apply for a new phone service in your name. Just imagine the amount of bills that might end up in your mail and not in theirs. They may also apply for a credit card and max it out without worrying a bit about paying it off. The most obvious effects of this are bankruptcy and bad credit. One will definitely acquire a low credit score once culprit thief starts using his or her accounts and racking up huge bills. Worse, experts say law enforcement does not investigate such crimes as there aren't clear laws yet for these types of crimes. Moreover, a lot of victims report that they do not get immediate help from credit card companies and other financial institutions. Plus, it takes a great deal of time and effort to clean up the mess and recover from the financial mess caused by the id theft. In short, it will ruin one’s life, at least in financial and legal terms. This is a serious matter. Although this may seem like a technical problem, it can branch out to other aspects of your life. It can cause a rift in your marriage and you and your spouse may argue over what happened. It can affect your overall financial stability, which may further pose challenges on your children’s education. Thus, it may make your life a modern horror story. The good thing though is that this can be prevented. Some people may be inclined to subscribe to identity protection services, when in fact you can provide yourself with a first line of defense by simply being vigilant. Do annual checkup to protect your identity and be very cautious of the information you share online. It may sound too simple, but vigilance really goes a long way towards protecting your identity online.

Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. Follow her and know more on how to keep your family’s credit secure with family credit monitoring and how can credit check monitoring help in preventing id theft and keeping credit secure.