- What is Identity Theft?
- How Do Identity Thieves Get My Personal Information?
- How Much Am I at Risk?
- What Can I Do to Reduce My Chances of Becoming a Victim?
- What Else Can I Do to Protect Myself?
- Identity theft is currently the fastest growing white collar crime in America.
- In cases of identity theft, criminals obtain your personal data (such as a credit card number or Social Security number) and use the information to assume your identity. Thieves may take over your existing accounts or use your name to open new accounts, or apply for loans.
- You may not be aware that your identity has been stolen until a merchant or collection agency contacts you, seeking payment for a bill you know nothing about. Or, you may be declined for a loan or employment because your credit records show defaults on loans unknown to you.
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While the more elaborate schemes are the ones that often make headlines, most identity thieves still obtain a victim's information through conventional paper means including:
- a lost or stolen wallet, check or credit card,
- "dumpster-diving," or digging through your trash for statements and other financial information,
- theft of mail from your mailbox.
Current findings indicate that about 11% of identity theft is traced to online, computer-based crimes. Identity thieves use fraudulent e-mails (a practice known as "phishing") and fraudulent web sites to trick you into revealing personal data online.
How Much Am I at Risk?- It’s estimated that 1 out of every 27 consumers was a victim of identity theft in 2006.1
- To assess your own personal risk of identity theft, click here and take the Identity Theft IQ test.
Please click here to see the attached printable document for additional information and protection tips
What Else Can I Do to Protect Myself?Most experts agree that even if you take all the right precautions, you may not be able to prevent identity theft from happening - in part because your personal information is not always in your control. Recently, for example, consumers' personal data has been lost or stolen from companies ranging from banks to retailers to personal data vendors.
What you can do is protect yourself with coverage that helps you in the unfortunate event that you do become a victim.
Travelers Can HelpIn 1999, Travelers became the first insurer to offer consumers protection against identity theft and now offers an expanded program of protection.
If you become a victim of identity theft, this program provides you with help from a consumer fraud specialist who can guide you through the process of reclaiming your identity. This protection also reimburses you up to $25,000, with no deductible, for the expenses associated with repairing your damaged credit record.
Travelers identity theft protection program can be added as an endorsement to a Travelers homeowners, condo, or renters policy for just $25 per year. To read more about this coverage, click here
If you already have a Travelers homeowners, condo or renters policy and would like to add identity theft protection, click here (available in most states)
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To request a quote for a Travelers homeowners policy with identity theft protection, click here
Coverage is provided by The Travelers Indemnity Company and its affiliates, Hartford, CT 06183
This material is for informational purposes only. All statements herein are subject to the provisions, exclusions and conditions of the applicable policy. For an actual description of all coverages, terms and conditions, refer to the insurance policy. Coverages are subject to individual insureds meeting our underwriting qualifications and to state availability.
1 2007 Identity Fraud Survey Report released by the Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research.
