People fear identity theft for good reasons. Once someone gains access to private, privileged information, many unauthorized actions could take place. Procuring names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers may lead to illegally accessing bank accounts or taking out loans in another person’s name. South Carolina residents worried about becoming victims may need to take steps to keep private info out on an identity thief’s hands.
Steps to safeguard private information
Identity theft does not always involve computer hacking or other high-tech strategies. Sometimes, people through sensitive information in the trash, leaving themselves vulnerable to dumpster diving thieves. Shredding documents and disposing of them more carefully seems advisable.
Telemarketing and other phone scams continue to plague unsuspecting victims. An identity thief might pretend to be from a retail store, a computer antivirus service or even the federal government. No matter the specific approach, the end goal involves gaining personal or financial information.
Email phishing games continue to cast nets for passwords. A victim might be fooled into signing into a fake website, giving up their banking or other passwords.
And yes, using easy-to-guess passwords proves risky. Opting for complex passwords might put up a barrier that confounds an identity thief.
Claims of identity theft
Legitimate business professionals accept and store personal information frequently. Their enterprises could fall victim to hackers, leading to customers falling victim to identity thieves. A regrettable outcome might involve the business’s owner facing identity theft accusations. Thankfully, like other white-collar charges, it could be possible to defend against identity theft charges successfully.
False claims of identity theft may omit revelations that the defendant had the authorization to receive the sensitive information. Questions may arise about whether the accused intended to do anything unlawful with the data. These details could weaken a prosecutor’s case and raise reasonable doubts.