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What is individual ID theft?

By Carole Worley and John P. Gardner, Jr.

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America today, according to the Federal Trade Commission. It can ruin the lives of individuals and bankrupt businesses, especially small businesses.

There are basically three kinds of ID Theft affecting individuals. The theft of your medical identity is one that many people do not realize exists. This occurs when someone obtains your social security number and or birth date and assumes your identity for purposes of getting tests done in your name. For instance, someone might want to get an AIDS/HIV test and not have it in his or her name. Another reason may be for the purpose of obtaining your insurance/ Medicare/Medicaid/prescription benefits.
The second form of ID Theft is the theft of your character identity. This occurs when someone commits a crime in your name. A teacher for instance lost her purse and subsequently she was informed her contract would not be renewed because she had four arrests for prostitution.

The third form is what most people think of as ID Theft. It is stealing your ID for money. The person may set up accounts in your name, use existing accounts of yours, borrow money on your home and buy cars or even homes in other cities in your name. Then, after exhausting your credit, they disappear. Then you are left with a 37 page FTC report to begin the sometimes-impossible task of clearing your name.

Carole Worley is an independent associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., a 32-year-old company, publicly traded on the NYSE, specializing in identity theft and legal services nationwide.
John P. Gardner, Jr., is a third-generation attorney in South Carolina with 25 years' practice as a criminal attorney, eight years' experience in the S. C. General Assembly and four years service as a state highway commissioner. He also co-authored Chicken Soup for the Entrpreneurial Soul.

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