Identity Theft and Illegal Immigration -- How Does It Affect You?
Learn what identity theft and illegal immigration have in common
You worry about identity theft and do everything you can to prevent it. What many people overlook when taking steps to protect their identity is taking into consideration where they live and the number of illegal immigrants in the area. The fact is, some states are more susceptible to identity theft due to a high number of illegals. Learn if your state is one of them.
Identity theft and illegal immigration
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the state with the highest rate of identity theft is Arizona. Of the seven worst cities for identity theft in America, seven of them are in Arizona. Nevada and California came in second and third respectively. What do these states have in common?
They have some of the highest rates of illegal immigration in the United States. While some illegal immigrants work for cash paid under the table, many others want to work "legally". To do this, they must have a social security number and to get one, they have to commit identity theft.
By stealing an American's social security number, the illegal immigrant has the appearance of a law abiding citizen. The problem comes at tax time. If your social security number has been stolen by an illegal, when their employer reports taxes, their income is added to yours. Shortly, you will be getting a notice from the IRS stating that you have underreported income, are faced with fines and are subject to audit.
How can you prevent identity theft by illegal immigrants? You protect yourself much in the same way as you usually do:
-- Protect your personal information
-- Protect your insurance and medical information
-- Shred all paperwork at work and at home with personal information
-- Guard your PIN, social security, and insurance numbers in public places.
Most importantly, be aware. You may not live in Arizona, California, or Nevada, but many other cities in the United States have illegals working and living in them. If this is the case, be especially diligent disposing of your paperwork and protecting personal information to keep from being the next victim of identity theft.