Fraud, Identity Theft, and National Consumer Protection Week
Identity Theft Is The Worst Type of Fraud
It’s National Consumer Protection Week, which means it is a perfect time to think about topics we usually don’t like to address such as fraud, identity theft, and cyber crime. Crimes such as fraud and identity theft can occur at any time, and National Consumer Protection Week is the perfect time to educate yourself about these concerns.
What is Fraud?
As defined by Wikipedia, fraud is “a deception made for personal gain.” Fraud is illegal, but unfortunately many consumers fall victim to fraudulent activity perhaps due to a high level of optimism and faith in positive human qualities. There are many types of criminal fraud which should you be aware of as a consumer. False advertising is one form of fraud that affects a large number of consumers due to how many consumers are reached by advertising. We see so many ads on television and billboards and in magazines, and we are vulnerable to the messages presented. It is important to be a discerning consumer and not necessarily always believe everything a company or salesperson tells you.
A Growing Epidemic
Identity theft is one form of fraud that affects millions of consumers every year. No one is exempt from identity theft including even children who haven’t used their social security number much and have never had a credit card. If you haven’t ordered a copy of your credit report in a long time, National Consumer Protection Week can be the time to do it. Knowing exactly what is on your credit report can help you discover if you’ve been a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft is definitely one type of fraud that doesn’t come with a high risk level for the criminal involved. That is why this type of fraud continues: the payoff is good but the risk of getting caught is not as high as it is with other types of fraud.