Identity thieves use their victims’ personal information in all sorts of ways. They can obtain credit cards, make large purchases, create forged travel documents in order to leave the country, etc. One way you don’t see too often is to obtain unemployment benefits.
But, this does happen, as it recently did to a woman in Puerto Rico. Juana Tapia Ruiz used this unidentified woman’s information, including her driver’s license, Social Security and voter registration cards, to obtain unemployment benefits for several months. The victim found out after getting calls from collection agencies, credit bureaus, and the Social Security Administration. It is still unbeknownst to her how Ruiz was able to obtain the her personal information.
This is the case with a lot of identity theft victims. Once they find out they have had their information compromised, they try to figure out how this might have happened, and in many cases they can’t. There is no one way that thieves get information. They can take dozens of different avenues.
That is one of the reasons why an identity theft protection plan is key. It’s really hard to safeguard your information against any possible risk. There are just so many different ways that thieves can work their magic. Plus, even when you are super vigilant, accidents can happen. For example, you could forget your wallet on the train or your company could be the victim of one of the many data breaches that occur each month.
Contrary to what you may believe, an identity theft protection service doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to obtain. In fact, as you peruse this website, you’ll likely find out that it’s much more affordable and simple than you thought it was. It’s amazing how you can go from worrying about being one of the 11 million U.S. victims to having peace of mind in a matter of minutes.