It is a dual crime because not only is it committed against an individual's financial life and credit history but also against his or her reputation and social standing in the community and in the workplace. In one notorious case of identity theft, a convicted felon have not only incurred thousands of credit card debt by using another person's identity, he was also able to obtain a federal home loan, and even bought homes, motorcycles, and handguns using the victim's name. Losing your identity can have a lot of repercussions not only in terms of personal properties but also with social reputation. And because identity thieves are real slick, authorities would not know what is happening unless you tell them so. They would not even know that there are two you without you saying that there is. One of the best way you can do to protect yourself from identity number theft is to avoid providing personal information from individual you talk to, especially to strangers. Giving personal information to people you do not know can have very disastrous consequences for you. 2. If you are in a public place, be very discreet about the financial events happening in your life. From there on, a criminal goes on manipulating to get further data from the victim s trusted relatives and immediate family. Hands-on criminals never cease at one victim, unless they devour them, whole into his system. Once access is gained, will continue to finish with him rather than get started with another. Even having these credit applications available online has proven to be a big reason for the increase of identity theft. Hackers may be able to get their hands on such information that they can use for a number of crimes using an unwilling victim s identity. Anyone can be a victim of identity theft. If you have a credit card, you can be a potential victim. Malicious people may be able to obtain personal information (such as credit card numbers, phone numbers, account numbers, and addresses) by stealing your wallet, overhearing a phone conversation, rummaging through your trash (a practice known as dumpster diving), or picking up a receipt at a restaurant that has your account number on it.