Identity Theft

Identity theft is a serious problem that has been happening for a very long period of time. In America there are over 9 million victims of identity theft that takes place every year. Research shows Nine out of ten American homeowners have concerns about becoming victims of identity theft. This is the most rapid growing type of fraud in the country, yet virtually two-thirds are hesitant whether their insurance policy is able to protect them financially if this crime were to occur. A vast proportion of 83 percent believe the government should seize action to help prevent identity theft. (WWW.SSA.GOV, 2009) [pic] According to Federal Trade Commission statistics, identity theft has reached a fraction of 72 percent between 2001 and 2002, from 220,000 occurrences to 380,000. Even though 97 percent of the homeowners surveyed had heard of identity theft, and practically one in four knows someone who has been a victim, 61 percent are uncertain whether their homeowner 's insurance policy would compensate them for expenses required in recuperating after this fraud has been convicted. Only 11 percent of the homeowners surveyed feel as though their policy protects them fully. "With the likelihood of identity theft increasing each year, these survey results suggest that more than 60 million homeowners could be at financial risk if they were to fall victim to this type of fraud, despite that increasing trend, only a small percentage of policies actually provide coverage for expenses incurred in recovering from identity theft." States Michelle Kenney, an underwriting executive who specializes in high-end policies (WWW.SSA.GOV, 2009). Identity theft comes in many forms. One type of identity theft is necrolarcency the unauthorized use of checking accounts or bogus credit cards. This is when someone has the unauthorized use of your name, social security number, or credit card number. Another type of identity theft is the unauthorized use of your social

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