A good time to check if someone is using your identity is before it even happens.
One of identity theft’s several downsides is how people discover they’ve become a victim in the first place—by surprise. They go to rent an apartment, open a line of credit, or apply for financing, only to discover that their finances or reputation has taken a hit because of identity thief.
And those hits add up, particularly when you look at the dollars involved. In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported $3.3 billion in financial losses from 4.7 million reported cases of fraud, a 45% increase over the year prior. Of those reports, identity theft was the leading fraud category, accounting for 29% of fraud incidents.
What’s at risk?
Plenty. Depending on the type and amount of information an identity thief gets their hands on, they can harm your finances and reputation in several ways, including:
Open utility accounts in your name
Use your credit cards for purchases
Hijack your email
Claim healthcare expenses under your insurance
Steal your tax refund
Even use your identity when they’re arrested for a crime
Rather than ending up with a rude and potentially costly surprise of your own, you can get ahead of thieves by checking to see if someone is using your identity before it’s a problem or before it really takes root.
