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Archive for June, 2010

Identity Theft Statistics Are Extremely Alarming

Identify theft is quite common in the United States much more common than many of us think. Actually it is one of the fastest rising crimes in America to make matters worse not only is it one of the most difficult to detect but one of the hardest to solve. The United States government has adopted some very harsh punishments for violators and if you are ever the victim of Identity Theft it is advised to pursue legal action against the person responsible to the fullest extent of the law.

One major disadvantage is that online hackers can steal your identity and then begin to use it before you even know that there is a problem. In fact if you are not one of those people that always keep a record of your purchases and transactions how long do you think it will take until you notice that there is something wrong with your account? Maybe 1 day 72 hours a week or a month well none of them are good but to spend a little time every week to verify your credit card accounts and bank accounts will certainly pay off.

There are some reports that think that the statistics for this type of crime are much higher than reported as not all people discover the problem in a timely manner. This is due to the ease that the hackers and con artists can use your stolen identity just about anywhere in the country. Many time they never even use your social security number or your credit card numbers but will just assume your identity by using your work history medical history or just your families name. Also keep in mind many people have no idea or understand what has happened to them and do not know what to do about it.

In 2002 the FTC set up an Identity Theft hotline which indicates that about 161000 cases were reported while experts in this field estimate that there were 1.2 million victims of Identity Theft in 2002 just in the United States. For more information on the FTC and the excellent Identity Theft resources they provide go to:

http://ftc.gov/

Credit Card Fraud

The most common of all these types of crimes credit card fraud is the cause of over 50 percent of reported Identity Theft crimes. It is reported that a credit card was opened in their name or that unauthorized charges have been reported on their current or existing accounts.

Unauthorized Electric or Phone Services

Identity thieves have hit about 25 percent of these victims the thieves opened up new accounts for telephone cellular and other utility services in the victims name or had accessed current accounts to use for their own purposes.

Bank Fraud and Fraudulent Loans

About 16 percent of all Identity Theft victims report that a new checking or savings account unauthorized withdrawals or fraudulent checks written against their accounts. 9 percent have reported unauthorized loans have been obtained in their name personal loans business loans automobile loans and real estate loans to name a few.

Government Provided Benefits

The number of people reporting that their name had been used to get a government issued document such as a drivers license birth certificate or even a social security card is around 8 percent. Some people have had their names and information used to file fraudulent documents like a tax return a federal loan application or to qualify for government benefits such as food stamps Medicare or other paid benefits.

Crimes of this nature can also result in the misuse of the victims private personal information to get a job obtain medical services evade law enforcement get away from criminal records get tax refunds and other government supplied benefits file for bankruptcy and lease a residence. It can also be used to open and access personal bank accounts internet accounts purchase and trade securities and investments and any other online accounting banking or online personal transactions.

Usually many of the victims of Identity Theft report that they have experienced more that one of the above types of crimes. Most do not know but the majority of these criminals are people that are close to the victim such as a family member room mates friends and neighbors and coworkers.

While some people notice the problems within 30 to 60 days of the occurrences some of the crimes went on for as long as 4 to 5 years. An average Identity Theft crime will go on for about 12 to 14 months from the date the crime occurs and the date that the victim notices the problem.

About the writer:  For more information about Identity Theft and other Personal Finance Tips go to:Finance Tips 101

What Happens If I Declare Myself Bankrupt?

Bankruptcy is the debt resolution of lastresort in the UK and still carries with it a stigma. It is also the debt solution that has the most devastating affect on your ability to get credit or a mortgage in the future. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the area of bankruptcy so what happens if I declare myself bankrupt?

It is important to note at this point that declaring yourself bankrupt is not something that you should do lightly and you should seek qualified advice.

A very important point concerns your home if you own it jointly. There may be steps that you can take to sell your share of your home to your partner/another family member which would remove the risk of it being sold. Get specialist advice on this.

You will need to get a form from your local court that you will have to present when you declare bankruptcy. You should also check at this point what the current fees are for declaring yourself bankrupt 485 at the time of writing or possibly 335 if you are on income support. This form will need to be filled in before you petition for bankruptcy.

Before visiting the court you need to be aware that any bank accounts that you have an interest in will be frozen. You therefore need to make sure that you have enough cash to provide for your basic needs until you are next paid.

You would normally make an appointment at the court to declare yourself bankrupt. In actual fact if you turn up with the correct forms and the payment without an appointment during normal court hours you have to be seen but normal practice is to make an appointment. You will need to take the bankruptcy fees in cash no cheques accepted. The court appearance will normally be a formality and you will then be free of your unsecured debt immediately.

After you are declared bankrupt your bank accounts will be frozen and you will need to attend an interview to discuss your financial situation and the reasons for your bankruptcy. The insolvency service will want to find out whether you have any assets that can be sold to pay money into your bankruptcy. Also they will go through your budget to see if you can afford to pay any money from your earnings towards your bankruptcy. All of this detail needs to be discussed with a qualified adviser but it is worth pointing out one key fact. If you are part of a couple then the insolvency rules do not apply to your partner i.e. they cannot insist that your partner pays anything towards mortgage/rent or utility bills etc. This is very important since if you fill in the forms showing that you pay half of the mortgage/rent this may result in you having a monthly excess. If so you will be ordered to pay some of this money to your creditors for up to 3 years continuing after your bankruptcy is discharged. If you don’t have any excess then you will be relieved of any responsibility for paying your creditors when you are discharged which could be after only 6 months but certainly within a year.

The insolvency service will want to know if you have any assets that can be sold. They will only be interested in high value items such as your home cars boats etc. Current practice in the UK is that bankrupt’s homes are very rarely visited to assess whether there are any personal items that can be sold. The time and effort is simply not worth the small amounts of money that would be raised unless your home is full of antiques.

Your car may be at risk of being sold unless you can prove that you NEED it for work i.e. you cannot travel to work by public transport.

If you live with a partner/family and own your own home and haven’t already taken steps to sell your share to someone else then the insolvency service will not sell it for at least a year from the date that you are declared bankrupt. This can give time for your partner or another family to buy back your share.

Once your bankruptcy is discharged normally in less than a year you will be free to start rebuilding your life debt free. You will probably find it almost impossible to get unsecured credit for a number of years. Mortgages are more available but the rates will be higher. It pays to shop around because the rates on adverse credit loans can vary widely.

About the writer:  If you want more free information then visit my Debt Advice Free blog for advice on debt from someone that has been in a debt crisis situation and is now debt free. Would you declare bankruptcy? If so visit my site to see what other options are available to you.

Staying Stuck Although You Are Making More Money

Do you find yourself making more money finally and yet you are still in debt?

Do you find yourself spending it as much as you make it?

You are not the only one many people are doing like you.

Self help classes

You may have gone to many self help classes and read many books on money and yet you are being stuck.

You may understand logically and maybe able to explain it to other and still find yourself in the same stuck place.

Being positive does not work when you are feeling a different way with money.

You may feel that you have done a lot of work on healing yourself only to realize that your reality shows that the change has not show up in your financial outcome.

Quality to money

Money does not have a quality as good bad or abusive; it is you who put the quality to money.

Stopping at a certain point

You may find yourself or know someone who was making lots of money and stop at a certain point to go further in getting more money.

You accumulate more things more toys and stop gaining more.

This is like losing weight you have an amount and thats it.

Your beliefs

People who are rich are selfish; which is not true yet you may have bought into this belief or some other belief similar about money that is holding you back from moving forward.

Listening to what you say about money when you talk to family and friends can give you more insight in where you are blocking in your finance.

Creating anxiety

You may find yourself creating anxiety with the way you are thinking the way you are feeling and the actions you are carrying out.

Going further and taking more risk will go against what you think to be true about whom and what you think.

Afraid of pain

If you are not going forward you are afraid of pain because you are either avoiding pain or going to pleasure and somehow you believe that having more will bring you pain.

Take time to discover your fears that is stopping you from getting more and with the help of talking to others you find that your beliefs comes up much easier because you are not paying attention to what you consider to be the truth.

If you are not getting what you want and are feeling stuck you are getting a pay off in staying there.

Breaking the pattern

You cannot take another step until you understand that you cannot blame the outside world and it is not about good luck it is about you stopping it from happening.

Sometimes in moving forward will change your life even more than you are willing to deal with.

Sometimes it is because you will have more than your parents earn and you may not want to surpass your parents and feel you have done better than them or you maybe afraid that you may have feeling that you are better than them.

Matching

A shift need to happen in matching your thinking beliefs and action and how you will be when or if you become successful needed to be aligned.

Conclusion: Staying stuck in the same place with money although you are making more tells you it is not about money and about how you view your life. Creating a new change will ask time and being consistent.

About the writer:  The author grants full reprint rights to this article. You may reprint and electronically distribute this article so long as its contents remain unchanged and the author’s byline remains in place. Francis is the owner of transformers.com if you want more information on money and abundance in your life you can find at:http://www.transformers.com/moneyandabundance.html