Consumers need to understand that identity theft is about more than credit card or check fraud. These things are not really
identity theft. Identity theft is where someone steals your identity and uses it to impersonate you. There are various ways this
can be completed the most common areas of identity theft are: driver’s license, social security, medical, character/criminal
and financial.
For instance if someone got arrested for DUI under your name and didn’t show up for court then a warrant for your arrest
could be filed for failing to appear in court. You could be boarding a plane or experiencing a routine traffic stop only to be
arrested and placed into custody all because you were a victim of identity theft. Or maybe an illegal immigrant, felon or
terrorist decides that they want to work using your social security number. You file your taxes at the end of the year expecting
a return only to receive a letter in the mail that a lien is being placed on your home because you failed to pay taxes on the
additional $200,000 worth of income that was reported in your name. Maybe you have a medical emergency and are taken to
the hospital and are provided with the wrong blood type, or you receive notice that your medical coverage has dropped
because someone impersonating you has just tested positive for AIDS. This is what identity theft is really all about. The
credit card companies and the banks have manipulated people into the ignorance of believing that identity theft is all
financial in nature when nothing could be further from the truth.
Let’s talk about the long term effect of identity theft. This is accomplished by introducing you to your long lost twin, the one
your parents never told you about. Lets call him or her the databased you.
About 20 or 30 years ago we as a nation started using two numbers outside of their intended purpose. These numbers are
your drivers license number or your national id number and your social security number. We started using these numbers to
create databases. Here is the problem we are faced with because of that. We had no idea when we created the databases
that we would be where we are today and because of that we created no method of correcting the incorrect information
placed in the databases. Now we are faced with the problem that our economy is 90% dependent not on the real us but on
the databased us. The databased us is what is relied upon when we attempt to get credit, its determines what type of
healthcare we are provided, the cost of healthcare for us, rather or not we get the job, what rates we pay for insurance and
even rather or not we can get insurance. That is just the tip of the iceberg.
The real problem involving identity theft and the corruption of the databases is the fact that we have no control over the
incorrect information that is inputted about us or the timeliness of when that occurs. This is because of the identity theft’s
first cousin “Data Breaches”. Over the past 30 months we as a nation have lost the personal identifiable information on over
290 million Americans. In case you don’t know our national census didn’t reach 300 million until 2006. This means that the
determining factor of when you’re victimized or in what way is essentially out of your hands and is directly dependent upon
the data security measures of the businesses that you do business with or are employed by. In a recent workshop in
Washington DC. The federal government made the statement that it predicts that every American will become a victim of this
crime is some form by the summer of 2010.
If you have any additional questions feel free to contact us directly at 404-474-2273. Have a blessed day.
Identity Theft Education Center
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