Identity theft exists in many forms and somehow despite all the announcements, shows, and media about how to avoid identity theft there are still thousands of people that get swept up by it every day. Now identity theft may not take the front stage in the media right now like Bernard Madoff has with his $50 billion Ponzi scheme scam, but it is still out there and need to be wary of it. There are even instances of scam artists are identity thieves calling victims at their homes and impersonating police officers, IRS agents, bank officials, etc. all in the jist of trying to elucidate personal financial information which they can then later use to access your bank accounts, to attain new credit which of course they never will pay off, and more.

Identity theft is so bad and rampant that most people know someone close to them either friend or family that has been the victim of this identity theft. And it may not have even been anything that you did. All it takes I said previously it is for a company or bank to lose your financial information and then shortly you find things in your credit statements or credit reports that don't belong and you never obtained. Like personal loans, credit cards, even car loans and more. Sometimes it's easy for the police to catch these identity thieves when they get stupid and do things like buying a car that they register in their name through someone else's credit.

Other times it can be almost impossible to catch the identity thieves. There are many places on the Internet or one can actually go and see this identity thievery actually going on. There are certain bulletin boards and websites where these thieves will go and market stolen credit card numbers, personal identity information and more. CNN headline news had a special just about this and it was amazing as they showed the live transactions taking place people selling stolen credit card information. You can only imagine how much of this goes on every day.

The other problem with identity theft is even though you are covered for most of the damage the problem is that it can take years to get off your credit report or file. The damage caused by identity theft is incomprehensible. It can cost you points in interest rates for a mortgage, for a car, it can cost you your car insurance and it can even cost you your job has many employers are now using credit checks as a part of their employment checks. Especially if you have a job that pays over $50,000 a year you can count on your employer having done a credit check on you and possibly doing them periodically as long as you stay employed with them.

So how does one best avoided identity theft? Well first of all don't open e-mails that you don't know or didn't ask for. And especially use common sense - if you get an e-mail, phone call or letter that sounds too good to be true it always is. So, the next time you receive a communication that you one for Microsoft lottery for $25 million or that some rich man in Nigeria dying of AIDS has left you $36 million or needs your help in moving his inheritance to America - you know these are all false. So is an IRS agent contacting you and wanting your personal information like your Social Security number, bank account numbers, etc. The IRS already has that information and does not need to contact you over the phone to clarify it.

If you see something that sounds fishy then it probably is - so if someone is trying to push you into doing something you are uncomfortable with then tell them to mail you the information you look into it. Never be pushed or allow yourself be pushed into giving personal information to people you do not know. Another good idea or tip is to routinely once a year or so pull your credit report and check it for wrongful entries. These could be signs of identity theft. So it is important that you go through your credit report and make sure everything is correct in there.

You do not need to join any credit protection services like LifeLock or others as they are a sickly just a waste of your money and time because you can do everything that they do your self for free and rather quickly. You can place a freeze on your accounts or your credit report just like they can. You can also order your credit reports online and pay a one-time fee if you wish to see your credit score and once a year you can get a non-credit scored credit report for free as you are entitled to under the law.

One last piece of information is to make sure you buy a paper shredder and make sure it is a cross cut shredder. Be sure and shred any and every piece of information, mail, etc. before it gets thrown out if it contains anything private and important (ie. Social security numbers, bank account numbers, etc...) And if you receive any calls that seem suspicious or they may even reveal that there's been an account opened in your name that you didn't have and to do with be sure and reported to the police. If you don't report to the police they can help you and they also can't easily track down these identity thieves. Do your part and turn in the scumbag identity thieves. As more of them get caught and as penalties get increased eventually this rampant increase in identity theft will curtail, but for now need to be very vigilant and look at your finances.