5 Effects of Identity Theft
You will be surprised to know that 40% of consumers across the globe have been the victim of ID theft once in a lifetime.
In this situation, a fraudster can steal, access and misuse your personal details like name, phone number and bank statements for monetary or some other personal benefits.
However, the results can be very devastating and can wreak havoc on your private and professional life for many years.
Some of the lasting effects of identity crimes are:
1. Financial loss
Identity theft can reveal confidential information regarding your credit card details, bank record and other financial statements.
This can result in a huge financial loss that can affect you for a long time.
Moreover, it can take a big toll on your job, retirement, mortgage and other huge investments.
It takes years to retrieve the lost funds and in severe cases, you might not be able to recover at all.
2. Tarnish your reputation
One of the major and long-lasting side effects of identity crime is reputational damage.
In this digitised world, anyone can access your emails and social media accounts and ruin your name.
This can also result in the loss of valuable customers.
After all, who would like to buy a product or service from a breached company that has a bad name in the market?
Trust once lost can never be retrieved.
3. Bad credit
Victims of identity theft don’t even realise that some fraudster has used their personal details until they start getting calls for repaying debts they didn’t actually take.
Moreover, if someone uses your private info to open a new credit account, this could cause irreparable damage to your credit score.
Poor credit score can have adverse effects:
● Difficult to get a home or vehicle loan
● High-interest rates
● Trouble renting an apartment
● High insurance premiums
4. Tax issues
Identity criminals can steal and use your personal details to apply for jobs and file out tax and employment records.
Any company owner may assume that you are working more and reporting your income less, due to which you may be charged with severe penalties.
Moreover, identity thieves may avoid paying taxes, causing a huge tax debt to stack up under your name.
5. Mental stress
As per the 2016 Identity Theft Resource Center survey of identity theft victims, 74 % of victims were reported to feel stressed.
Identity theft can have adverse and lasting effects on your mental health too.
For instance, if someone has misused your personal details, this will directly harm your reputation, which eventually can cause a lot of stress to you for a longer period.
Apart from this, identity theft can also land you behind bars before you try to clear the confusion.
This all can cause you immense emotional and mental stress.
Prevention
As it is said,” Prevention is better than cure”.
Identity theft is one of the serious crimes. Follow a few tips to prevent being its victim:
Shred old and outdated documents
Keep your data in pallet storage
Use strong system passwords
Avoid using an office shredder
Review your bank statement regularly
Install antivirus on your device
Above all, hire a secure paper shredding company in Perth for the safe disposal of all confidential documents. Dial 0458 088 000.