Refining Solutions Paper

Refining Solutions Paper

How do you protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft? A credit card statement with gas charges originating in Louisiana was the first sign of trouble. The owner of the card had not traveled to Louisiana during the dates of the charges, which indicated there was a problem. The feeling of anxiety and frustration took over because security was in place to prevent fraud. There are many ways thieves can access one's personal information. According to CIPPIC, ID thieves may steal personal and private information in various ways, ranging from simple (physical) ways such as theft of wallets to very sophisticated methods (technology-based thefts) such as computer hacking (Hedayati, 2012). The credit card holder did not have a balance on that particular card and the new charges as cause for an investigation. Upon calling the credit card company, many questions regarding the location and use of the credit was asked, but there had been no authorized use by the card holder. The credit card is regularly used at one department store for clothes purchases. The credit card is not used for gas purchases or online purchases. An affidavit was completed and a police report provided indicating the theft. This was the only way to shift the burden of proof to the thieves and not be responsible for the unauthorized charges.

People should always check their credit report more than once a year to prevent thieves from opening accounts in their name. When inquiring about fraudulent accounts, be careful not to give too much information to different agencies. The only agency you should give personal information is to the police department and the bank and that would be to obtain a police report.

A solution involves the process of the credit card holder creating a 24- hour pin number. The pin is good for only 24 hours and after that time the credit card holder must create another pin if they wish to use their credit card. Therefore, if their card gets compromised during a transaction thieves will have a small window of time to steal before the theft is detected by the cardholder. It helps the cardholder determine where the card was used and the possibility of pinpointing where the theft took place. The original positive solution would involve checking accounts on a regular basis even if they are seldom used for purchases. These types of accounts are targeted by thieves because they are seldom accessed by the account holders. It is hard to get credit repaired after the credit bureaus post erroneous errors on accounts because of identity theft. If people monitor their accounts regularly and report suspicious activity it would help deter thieves.

People who make less than three transactions per year on a credit card would benefit from a 24-hour pin. This would limit the time in which access to important information can be accessed by others. Credit card companies would offer this service to customers with little or no activity to help them monitor their