The DataBased You

Through various conversations and research, it has become apparent to me that there are three major misconceptions about Identity Theft.

1. That it is just about your credit cards or your finances
2. That you can't be held liable for the debt racked up in your name by thieves
3. That you can take steps to 100% prevent the crime

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Identity Theft - The First Misconception

"That it is just about your credit cards or your finances"

Identity theft is so much more than just your credit cards or your finances. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reports that only 28% of identity theft has to do with your credit cards and less than half of all reported instances are financial in nature. Please refer to the post on the five common types of identity theft to gain an understanding on what Identity Theft really is.

My definition of Identity Theft is: "When someone gets some piece of information about you, personally, professionally, or financially, and uses it to their benefit and your detriment". The mainstream media is missing the boat because the majority the of reporting done focuses on the financial side of the equation. They are completely missing 4/5's of the problem.

Here are three great stories that hopefully will help you kill The First Misconception

MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT: The Information Crime that Can Kill You

Identity Theft Woes

Illegal Immigrants and Identity Theft

Our next post will cover The Second Misconception: "That you can't be held liable for the debt racked up in your name by thieves"

Jeffrey Omtvedt

(John Gardner and Jim McCartney contributed to this post.)

The Five Major Types of Identity Theft and The DataBased You

Driver's License Identity Theft

Thieves use your information to acquire a driver?s license in your name or claim to be you during a traffic stop

• You could receive DWI, DUI, and other driving-related charges.
• Your driving privileges could be suspended or revoked.
• You could be arrested during a routine traffic stop for crimes you did not commit.

Social Security (SSN) Identity Theft

Thieves use your SSN Identity to gain employment or to report income under your name

• Thieves take the income, but don?t pay the taxes, leaving you with the bill.
• Wanted criminals use your SSN Identity so they can get employment without being found.
• Illegal immigrants use your SSN Identity to gain employment.
• Thieves and Criminals use your SSN for employment, medical, financial, criminal, school, and other purposes.

Medical Identity Theft

Thieves use your information for insurance benefits, Rx, Medicare, Medicaid benefits, or for medical tests

• Your rates could go up or your coverage could be cancelled or used up.
• You could owe thousands of dollars for a procedure you never had.
• You could be unable to obtain medical or life insurance, other coverage, and/or employment because of conditions that you do not have (AIDS, Diabetes etc?).

Character / Criminal Identity Theft

Thieves mask their criminal activity behind your identity

• You could be arrested.
• You could be denied employment because of fraudulent criminal records found during routine background checks.
• Security checkpoints at airports could become a nightmare for you.
• You could be denied a passport and be barred from leaving the country.

Financial Identity Theft

Thieves use your information to open new accounts or to gain access to existing accounts

• Thieves rob your accounts.
• They rack up outrageous charges on credit cards, take out new loans, and more.
• They destroy your credit, forcing you to pay higher rates.
• You can absolutely be held responsible for the debts incurred by the thieves in your name.

Jeffrey Omtvedt

(John Gardner and Jim McCartney contributed to this post.)

Hello and welcome to The DataBased You. My name is Jeffrey Omtvedt and I am a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist and co-author of If You Are Me, Then Who Am I. The goal of this blog is to educate our community on what The DataBased You is, how it relates to Identity Theft and to educate you on what Identity Theft truly is.  In order to accomplish this, I need to first introduce the real you to The DataBased You.

The DataBased You is the sum total of all the information about you, whether on paper or stored electronically, that can build a better biography of you than you could of yourself.  We are moving to a point in our society where the you you look at in the mirror everyday is not going to be as important as what the DataBased You has to say. In many ways, it already takes place today.

For instance ...

You could have a great job, pay your taxes, have a clean record and all around be a good person, but if you apply for a loan and your credit score does not match the financial institutions criteria, then chances are you are not getting the loan. What happened???

The DataBased You has biography of your credit history and that lender looked at a piece of The DataBased You to make a decision about the real you. 

Take a look at this image

What does this image say to you? What do you think of when you see it?

This is a graphical representation of just some of the information bought, sold, and traded ABOUT YOU, on a daily basis. There is billions of dollars being made on this information. That's right, there is billions of dollars being made on The DataBased You.

The scary news is, not only can this information be inaccurate, Identity thieves are incresingly finding that getting access to The DataBased You can help commit fraud.  When it comes to Identity Theft, forget what you've seen on TV and the majority of what you have read because most pundits and reporters only cover one fifth of the problem, the financial side. To understand Identity Theft, you must first realize there are Five Major Types and this is what we will cover in our next post.

Jeffrey Omtvedt

(John Gardner and Jim McCartney contributed to this post.)