Pretexting is the practice of obtaining your personal information under false pretenses. It is one way that crooks perform credit identity theft and is something that you must be aware of so that you can prevent it from happening to you.

Pretexting is very much against the law, but it is a common practice of somebody who wants to steal your identity. An example of pretexting is someone may call you up and claim that they are conducting a survey. They will ask you a few questions that are personal in nature. They are enough to call up your bank and impersonate you, thus starting the process of identity theft.

Another method of pretexting is a crook who calls you up impersonating your bank and requests that you give them your Social Security Number and other private, personal information to “verify” that you are the owner of the account. Once you supply the crook with this personal information, they have all that they need to commit ID theft.

ID theft crooks are very clever in the methods that they use to obtain you personal information so that they can assume your identity. You have to be very wary of anybody who is calling you asking for private, personal information. They will do their best to set your mind at ease, but they will have the worse of intentions.

Never give out any personal information to anybody that calls you. If you feel that the call is legitimate, ask to call them back. If they insist on getting the information without you calling them back, then you can just about be guaranteed that they are a fraud and are out to steal your identity.

Do not become a victim of identity theft. Make sure you have an ID protection plan from one of the reputable company identity theft services. Take control of your personal information and only give it out to those that have proven to you who they are and why they need it. Be smart when and do what you can to protect identity theft!

Read our identity theft service reviews for more information about identity theft protection.