Identity Theft on the Rise : Not Just Credit Cards at Risk

I was just reading about the 26.5 million veterans whose records have been stolen and possibly sensitive information compromised, such as their social security numbers, which can basically get you a loan, credit card or other purchasing powers fairly easily today.

The worst part is, breaking news is saying that these identity thefts were kept secret for days before the press got ahold of the story. The good news is, the thief may not even have bad intentions, although I’d be willing to bet someone who steals information would have no qualms about selling that information to the wrong people.

The FBI has launched a full investigation of the crime, and is hoping to have some answers for these people soon. With the publicity about identity theft, and the increasing importance of sensitive information such as SSN and other personal information due to online buying, and other forms of buying where a person does not need to be physically present to make a purchase, identity thieves are getting more and more creative in how to steal and use to their benefit, other people identities.

It’s even happened to me, although it wasn’t really a case of a stolen identity in the sense of personal information, but my Paypal account got hacked once, and someone made several charges with my account without my knowledge or permission.

To my relief, paypal and my backup credit card caught on to the suspicious activity and did not allow the last few transactions through, but it taught me a lesson that nothing is safe any more.