Top 10 Identity Theft Stories

Identity theft is not only one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, it is a nightmare for individuals to fix. Most people get their money back when they have been a victim of this crime. However, the time and effort that it takes to clear up the matter is the biggest headache. It can take hour after hour of paperwork, phone calls, and meetings to remedy this problem.



Criminals are getting more and more bold in their efforts to take others' identity. They will resort to all kinds of trickery to get some "free money". Each year there are more and more stories of data breaches at large companies that could lead to even more identity theft cases. Where will it end? The short answer is that it will never end, and we just have to be diligent in our efforts to protect our personal data. 

As a reminder to be diligent, here are ten awful identity theft stories from the past few years.

1. Todd Davis, CEO of Life Lock, has had his identity stolen 13 times after posting his social security number everywhere to show how effective his company is against ID theft. That marketing effort was an ironic failure!

2. There are many cases of identity theft involving kids. One study showed that 10% of children under 18 had someone else using their social security numbers. These cases are harder to detect.

3. Thieves used a fake Netflix error to get customers to call a number and let the "support agent" connect to their computers. After that, all their files were virtually open for the criminals.

4. In New York in 2011, 111 people were charged in a massive ID theft scheme. It is hard to imagine that many criminals working together, but it is happening even now somewhere.

5. In 2002, a help desk worker was caught selling personal data to Nigerian nationals for $30 a pop. They were finally caught after getting too greedy.

Identity Theft - (Supplemental Benefits)

6. In Ohio, identity thieves used Facebook to communicate with each other in order to defraud people with fake checks made with victims' account numbers. This too was a multi-million dollar crime.

7. 1.2 billion user names and password combinations were exposed as a Russian crime ring hacked into over 420,000 websites. It is hard to imagine any website is safe after this.

8. An Atlanta man used a phony "Obama stimulus payment sign up" to get social security numbers from folks to file fake tax returns. He netted about five million for his efforts as people basically gave him their personal info. He currently resides in a small cage.

9. Three New Jersey "gentlemen" hacked into various corporate accounts just three years ago to steal over 130 million credit card numbers.

10. Target had a security breach in 2014 that put over 100 million customers at risk as their personal data was compromised. Stories like this make me want to use cash only.