Chapter 4: Review Test 5

Read the paragraph, and answer the questions.

How Identify Theft Occurs

     ¹Despite your best efforts to manage the flow of your personal information or to keep it to yourself, skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods—low- and hi-tech—to gain access to your data. ²For your protection, you must be aware of the following ways imposters can get your personal information and take over your identity. ³They steal wallets and purses containing your identification and credit and bank cards. ⁴They steal your mail, including your bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, and tax information. ⁵They complete a "change of address form" to divert your mail to another location. ⁶They rummage through your trash, or the trash of businesses, for personal data in a practice known as "dumpster diving." ⁷They fraudulently obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legitimate need for, and legal right to, the information. ⁸They find personal information in your home. ⁹They use personal information you share on the Internet. ¹⁰They scam you, often through email, by posing as legitimate companies or government agencies you do business with. ¹¹Finally, they get your information from the workplace in a practice known as "business record theft" through several methods. ¹²They steal files out of offices where you're a customer, employee, patient, or student; they bribe an employee who has access to your files; or they "hack" into electronic files.