This recent identity theft case illustrates some important facts about identity theft and what you can do to prevent it. To sum up, police arrested a man in Texas in connection with an identity theft case affecting over 1,100 University of California, Irvine students.

Here are four interesting facts from the case that will help you understand identity theft and suggest tips to stop it.

 

Burglary equals identity theft: The perpetrator physically stole a file from the University of California in Irvine. People imagine identity theft as something that happens over the Internet or after a pickpocketing but in this case, it all started with a theft from an office. Nowadays, your filing cabinet can be just as lucrative a target for burglars as a jewelry box. Keep your sensitive information out of casual view and if you share it with an institution, make sure they keep your data safe.

They arrested him in Texas – but the crime was in California: Identity theft doesn’t just ignore borders, but exploits them. In this case, the thief used stolen information to file false tax returns and claim the refunds. The IRS covers the whole country, so who cares where the information came from? An identity thief can be next door or on the other side of the world. In this case, the victims were lucky they made an arrest in Texas – they could have traced it to China. This makes it vitally important to contact financial and government institutions whenever you suspect ID theft. They have the resources to track ID theft beyond your local area.

1,100 victims – you’re not alone: Identity theft operations are increasing professional affairs. That means more perpetrators are repeat offenders who routinely use stolen data, and might be part of organized ID theft networks. Ads like to show one person pretending to be you, but the fact is that he might also be pretending to be a dozen, a hundred or over a thousand different people. Identity theft is a serious crime. Always contact the police when you suspect it’s happened to you. You won’t just help yourself, but help others – and if they can bust a repeat offender, it helps protect you in the future.

The university used ID theft prevention as soon as they found out: They paid for ID theft prevention services for everyone affected. These systems work. Consider TrustedID, LifeLock or Identity Guard to protect your personal information. Unlike these students, you’ll have the benefit of protection before something happens.