It took two and half decades but only became a victim of identity theft. I moved to Portland and I'm standing in the mall at Quest Lloyd trying to register for Internet service. This discount is offered very good for high-speed Internet and the application process was surprisingly fast. We got to the final product and the seller to inform me that can not be paid.

Someone opened a cell phone in my name a little over a year, with my name misspelled, and I had to call the credit department on Monday to get it cleaned before I could get the service.

This company has done a poor job of verifying identity and making sure certain information was accurate. However, this error has been weighing in on my credit over the past year and a half and I have no idea. I have to know what else might be in there that I do not know.

This is the lesson learned from it. Get a credit report at least once a year. If he did I would have heard of this error and could have corrected months.

I began to wonder how many other people have been victims of identity theft. It turns out that a lot of people have been totally screwed! They have been through a complete nightmare to get your credit and affairs in order. One woman had a Turkish man charged $ 50,000 in bills in his name. That is, by far, at least compared to other firsthand experiences.

I asked a lawyer to identify the theft of some things a person can do to minimize getting your identity stolen. He explained that it is virtually impossible. It robbers in Nigeria and Russia, which have a doctoral degree in this type of work. Identity theft is like a science and some individuals have completely dominated the field. They are also experts in making their mark virtually untraceable, so it will be in business for long. However, here are some things you can do to try to prevent or lesson the risk of this happening to you in the near future.

1. Only your credit car number when absolutely necessary. The same applies to the number of your driver's license that many people can use them interchangeably. If you have to demand that shred documents where you can see if you can.

2. Do not give personal information over the phone or email.

3. If you think you do not even suspect that your computer has viruses or tracking cookies, please do not buy anything in it with a credit card. Certain viruses can read all the numbers you input and then be available for thieves to use at their disposal.

4. Identify theft insurance is not a bad idea if it is priced at $ 20 – $ 30 per month.

5. Look at a credit report several times a year so you can catch fraudulent transactions quickly and report them.

Stay alert. New theft of identity thieves are getting smarter every day. He has perfected his art over the past two decades. These guys are not common criminals with his tattoos. Many of them have degrees and are very intelligent, but they use their resources for evil. You should remain vigilant.

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