As the financial crisis worsens and more banks and lenders are merging this is opening up a lot of new opportunities for identity thieves to steal the personal information from confused consumers making them the latest victims of identity theft. There are getting to be more and more scams to get the personal information and of those who are desperate for a loan to relieve their current financial problems or those who are unsure of who they now bank with do to mergers.

For those seeking loans to save them from foreclosure there are identity thieves who are now posing as lenders who can help even those with the worst credit get the assistance they need to stay in their home. These scams sometimes are for the sole purpose of getting personal information for the “loan papers” while other times they are flat out stealing the home out from under the confused borrower.

While there are other scams now going around to steal the identity of customers who may be confused on whom they now bank with. These scammers will contact them and request to confirm their identity for the “new bank” which came from the merger of their old bank. In reality they are just phishing to see who will give up their information so the identity thief can use it to their own benefit.

Just about everyone knows the dangers involved with identity theft and the large negative impact it can have on every aspect of your life. Everyone to some degree does at least a few simple steps to help keep their personal information just that, personal. But despite the risks and the warnings there are scams that are successful every single day in duping people out of their very own personal information. We all know about these scams and many make comments about the people who fell for them and their gullibility yet when in the situation themselves many people do not make the correct decision in their own case.

Phone scams are very effective and have been around a long time and still continue to work despite the warnings. Recently when the US government gave out economic stimulus checks to its citizens a scam went around where a caller claimed to be from the IRS and needed to verify information to get the check to the recipient. Many people sat and told social security numbers, bank accounts, and more without even questioning the caller more. Whether on the phone or on the internet never give out your personal information to someone without taking the time to verify with that agency of company that this is legitimate.