How Can You Tell if Your Identity Has Been Stolen? Identity theft is something that is happening more and more of late. The main reason for this is that those who commit this fraud are starting to find more sophisticated ways to access your data and breach any security systems that may be in place. But, how do you know that your identity has been stolen? What are the signs that there is an issue that you need to take action on? Here are some of the most common signs that your identity has been stolen and that you need to do something about it.
You are being charged for things you didn’t buy One of the most obvious signs that your identity is in the wrong hands and is being mis-used is that you are being charged for things that you did not buy. This could be charges on your bank accounts or credit accounts that you don’t recognise. It could also be payment requests on credit accounts that were actually empty and not being used. These are all signs that someone else is using your data.
You find that you are unable to get credit Another sign that you are a victim of identity theft is that your credit rating is affected. You may be offered credit rates that are not as good as you would normally expect, or perhaps that you are actually denied credit on something that you should be able to obtain credit for. This could mean that someone else has been making credit requests with your identity.
You receive a letter saying that your data has been compromised If a company has been a victim of a data breach, then they have a duty to let their customers know that this is the case. They will often write to you, or perhaps send you an email, detailing what has happened and letting you know that your identity is at risk. Many people ignore these letters and just think that it will never happen to them, however, if your information is a part of a data breach, then you may want to take steps to protect yourself as much as possible. As you can see, there quite a few warning signs that your data is at risk of identity theft. Make sure that you pay attention to these signs and you can make sure that your data is kept as safe as possible. Try to gain access to your credit file to find out more about your credit status and keep a regular eye on things to make your you’re as safe as you can be. Far better than trying to sort out a financial mess that is none of your own doing is to make steps to preventing any personal data vulnerabilities and securing yourself as much as possible.