Crime Never Sleeps
While the government was on snooze, criminals pounced on victims nationwide. It’s hard to maintain law and order when there’s no money to pay employees who actually do the work. As politicians argued in short bursts and rested in their estates, criminals pilfered millions of dollars from normal citizens. Police departments had to rely on state revenues during the shutdown, squeezing many precincts down to the last nickel. There’s not much incentive to catch criminals when the government isn’t open for procedure.
Identity theft, though life ruining and practically grand theft auto (the crime of stealing a car), isn’t a priority for many police departments or prosecutors. Which is strange, seeing as how most of the evidence is easily obtained online, closed-circuit recording cameras, or a paper trail. Slam dunk cases are ignored while petty crimes are pursued with a vengeance. Identity fraud victims get the least support, even though the crimes are open and shut prosecutions. Sadly, cases don’t go very far if the cops don’t care and the prosecution doesn’t want to pursue it. Victims are left to fend for themselves, arguing with financial institutions and companies.
Preventing identity fraud is the best option. At the time of this writing, the government is temporarily open for business, but that could change in a few weeks or when the federal budget is back on the negotiating table. Keeping your personal information off the internet will keep you safe from identity fraud. Freezing your credit will make it harder for criminals to exploit your information if it’s already in their hands. Stopping your personal information from circulating online is important, because unlike images, personal information is usually 100% text-based, meaning that the copied are exactly the same. Criminals can copy and paste your personal information from the internet onto their phone or computers easily if you let them.
Wiperts is a personal information removal service that aims to keep your privacy intact online. Sometimes your personal information like Facebook photos and other online accounts are enough to provide the extra lies needed for criminals to open a new fraudulent account in your name. Using your real information to lie is easier than coming up with nonsense out of thin air because these criminals are using factual information to social engineer their way in. Removing this information from the internet prevents fraudsters from knowing too much about you. Most people keep their curtains open during the day and closed at night – keeping your personal information online publicly is like leaving your front door open for everyone.
No one worries about identity fraud until it happens. It’s a low-key crime that’s very subtle and can happen across state lines or even internationally. By the time you find out, thousands of dollars may be gone. Don’t pay for the crimes of a criminal: Argue as if it’s your life on the line and fight back against fraudulent account charges. Paying bills that a criminal racked up is ridiculous and immoral. Protect yourself by removing your personal information online, checking your credit, and keeping your credit frozen until you actually need to use/access your credit score.
