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While trying to seek your credit report there are a number of ways that unscrupulous thieves can take advantage of you. They will find any way to steal your identity and one way would be for them to offer fake “free credit report” opportunities.

The main way they get you is to require a credit card even if it is supposed to be a free trial. However, sometimes they try to cancel and put additional charges on top of the ones you already made.

They also then try to make it difficult for you to cancel your free trial. Then you are stuck paying probably for additional services you no longer even want.

Prevention Tips

Make sure you go to a recommended source to obtain a free credit report. Annual Credit Report.com is probably your best choice, but any comparable to this that are reputable would be fine.

If you must use a credit card because you think the additional credit monitoring services may help you then keep the following in mind:

• Never sign up unless you know the server is secure. This will prevent third-party fraud.
• Never give your credit card number to a company that you do not recognize. This will reduce risk of later becoming the victim of unauthorized charges.
• Make sure you verify the name of the company providing credit report monitoring services. Verisign seal information is one way to do this, or you could check with the Better Business Bureau if you have any doubts.
• Only fill out the information that is required. Be very careful about to whom you give your social security card, driver’s license, birth date, and other information.
• Do not pay for any services you could get for free. For instance, you can have free fraud alerts placed on your annual credit report.

You never can be too careful when using the Internet. This is evident in the number of identity theft cases that take place annually-and even daily, weekly, and monthly. This pertains to making purchases as well as using free credit report services and shopping in traditional stores.

Statistics

According to Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research, over 9 million cases of identity theft crimes have taken place now for two years in a row. Within the past five years there have been a total of over 30 million victims, as reported by agencies such as the FTC and BBB.

Some more interesting facts you might want to know can help you be safer. Take a look below:

• About 71% of fraud occurs within a week of someone’s personal identification being stolen. Sometimes the crime takes place almost immediately if it is a credit card being used that was stolen.
• Although online identity theft is on the rise, only about 11% of identity theft crimes originate here. Stolen wallets and physical documents make up for about 43% of all identity crimes.
• The breakdown of identity theft cases is as follows (2009): 26% credit card fraud, 18% utilities fraud, 17% bank fraud, 12% employment fraud, 5% loan fraud, 9% government fraud, 13% other. This of course are approximate numbers and 2010 stats are going to be different.

Ways Identity is Stolen

Your personally identifiable information can be stolen in a variety of different ways. Your credit cards and/or credit card digits is one of the most common forms of identity theft. This takes place as fraudulent websites set them selves up appearing as a legitimate company.

This often is the case when ordering a free credit report, which when it is legit can save you from credit card/identity fraud. However, if you enter information into a fake free credit report site you are in trouble, especially if you are entering credit card numbers or other personal data over a server that is not secure. Your financial and personal information is then stolen.

Also, numerous traditional brick-and-mortar stores are sometimes careless about asking for a picture I.D. when a purchase is made. So, when someone uses a stolen credit care it often passes through electronic credit card systems.

However, it is not just physical credit cards and credit card numbers that are stolen and exploited. Driver’s license and social security cards and numbers, birth certificates and birth dates, banking account numbers and checkbooks, and even credit reports are stolen.

Why Identity is Stolen

It is done for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is to secure a home loan and another is to apply for a job, or to be able to find a way to have a utility or phone line turned on (i.e. using a child’s name). It could be even done to get away with committing a crime.