Mitigating Identity Theft Flashcards

What is medical identity theft?

Answer: Using someone's personal information to obtain medical care, prescriptions, or file fraudulent health insurance claims

Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's health insurance information or personal data to receive medical treatment, obtain prescriptions, or submit fraudulent insurance claims.

Why is shredding physical documents still important for identity theft prevention in the digital age?

Answer: Physical mail, bank statements, and pre-approved credit offers contain personal information that dumpster divers can use for identity theft

Physical documents like bank statements, tax forms, and pre-approved credit offers contain personal information that identity thieves practicing 'dumpster diving' can recover from trash.

What is tax identity theft?

Answer: When someone uses your Social Security number to file a fraudulent tax return and claim your refund

Tax identity theft occurs when criminals use stolen Social Security numbers to file fake tax returns early in the season, claiming the victim's tax refund before the legitimate taxpayer files.

How does two-factor authentication help prevent identity theft?

Answer: It adds a second verification step beyond a password, making stolen credentials alone insufficient for account access

Two-factor authentication requires an additional verification method beyond your password, so even if an identity thief steals your credentials, they cannot access your account without the second factor.

What should you do immediately if you suspect you are a victim of identity theft?

Answer: Place a fraud alert or credit freeze, report to the FTC, file a police report, and notify affected financial institutions

Immediate steps include placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with credit bureaus, filing a report at IdentityTheft.gov (FTC), notifying banks and creditors, and filing a local police report.

What is child identity theft and why are children particularly vulnerable?

Answer: Using a child's personal information for fraud, exploiting the fact that their clean records go unmonitored for years

Child identity theft exploits children's unused Social Security numbers and clean credit histories, often going undetected for years until the child applies for credit as a young adult.