What Identity Thieves Know
Like any other kind of crook, an identity thief is an opportunist. Most of their time is simply spent waiting for an individual to get careless with their information. Whether it’s tossed out in the garbage or lifted from a restaurant, there are a number of places that this can happen. The vast majority of identity thieves set themselves up wherever they will have good access to an individual’s personal information. Most often, this is any place where financial transactions are handled. For example, Abraham Abdullah was an identity thief who managed to steal millions from well to do victims while working as a busboy in an upscale New York eatery.
Restaurants, stores and similar venues are all places where an individual commonly hands over a credit card for payment with little thought. However, this is where many find their troubles begin. Identity theft rings are only able to pull off as much as they do because they know what the general population expects when it comes to the average criminal. For the most part, the average citizen will make the mistake of assuming an identity thief is male. This is not to say that all identity thieves are female; only that rings will often use females to gather information because they tend to be more trusted.
Identity thieves also know that even if a person is smart with their credit card, they are likely not so bright with their statements. It is not uncommon for identity thieves to wander neighborhoods looking for trash cans pulled to the curb the night before a scheduled trash pick up. This allows a thief to simply pull up and pull out trash bags from trash cans to sort through at another location. If a bank or credit card statement has not been shredded or ruined with water, an identity thief will begin using what information they can almost immediately. They know that time is of the essence and they must strike quickly if they are going to reap the benefit of their work.
Along with thrown out credit card and bank statements, thieves also look for homes that still have their own traditional curbsides mailboxes. As the vast majority of individuals are at work during the day when mail is delivered, an identity thief can follow right behind a mail deliverer and pick up mail as soon as it is dropped off. Many times, a thief will only take what he or she considers valuable so that the victim will never notice anything amiss. This allows a thief greater time to wreak havoc opening credit lines, bank accounts or using insurance information to gain expensive medical care.
Though it can all seem rather intimidating, identity thieves can only do their work if and when they get their hands on vital information or sensitive mail and documents. Vigilance is the greatest foe of this type of criminal. The only thing an identity thief will be able to do when they come up against someone who wise to their tricks is move on.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:39 am
As a victim of identity theft for financial fraud, I found your article very useful. You note that: “Though it can all seem rather intimidating, identity thieves can only do their work if and when they get their hands on vital information or sensitive mail and documents.” In my opinion, financial fraud and identity theft occur so easily because banks and credit card issuers have very relaxed standards for validating an applicant’s identity. If the banks and not the victims were saddled with the costs and burdens of identity theft, we’d see this problem vanish almost overnight. http://identitythefthurts.com