Finding Public Information

As the internet becomes a larger part of our everyday lives there is a danger that many people will start to forget about the traditional ID theft techniques, the offline scams which can put you into serious financial difficulties. One of the latest offline ID thefts to make a comeback is the one carried out by your neighbours, those living in the same apartment block as you. So how does it work?

There are a growing number of complaints whereby neighbours in the same block of flats have been found applying for a whole host of items in the name of their next door neighbours, items such as loans, credit cards, online purchases, etc. The scam involves intercepting the post for the whole flat / apartment block and taking out the bogus applications so that the victim is not aware of the scam.

The scammers have then been know to contact the credit card companies, loan companies, etc and inform them that the person has now moved address. The new address would be that of an accomplice, or somewhere that the scammer could pick up with post without any risks, and then use the credit card, etc without the knowledge of the victim.

There are literally thousands of victims around the world who will at this moment be suffering from this kind of ID theft and they may never actually find out about it until the debt collection agencies and the banks / credit card companies starting searching for them. These are the simplest of scams to carryout and many people have literally made millions of dollars from them. So how can you avoid falling victim to such scams?

It is vital that you check your credit records on a regular basis and see what applications have been made in your name and on your behalf. Too many people just assume that their credit records are correct, that they have not fallen victim to an ID theft but these are the prime targets for the scammers.

About the author
Andreas co-founded Xavier Media® in 1996 and has since been involved in all kinds of development, marketing and making money online.