Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
Identity theft is something that occurs when someone takes your personal information and uses it to obtain personal loans, credit cards, and rentals in your name. Many times these people take up as if they were you. Everything they do is masked by your identity and the chance of catching them really is not good. How can you protect yourself? We have some tips that will help safeguard you and these are real simple things that we should do anyway.
One way that identity theft is done is sifting through trash and getting credit card and bank statements. These documents have more than enough information to give thieves all the ammunition they will ever need. The best way to stop them is buy a good paper shredder at an office supply store. Once you are done shred documents that you plan to throw away. This leaves no information for them to gather and do harm to you.
When you’re at an ATM and using, your debit card is very careful of who is around you for a couple of reasons. With today’s technology cell phones and video cameras, they can zoom in and capture your on number. Once they do this they can access your accounts and drain every dollar out of it. Always look for those over the shoulder surfers who may be looking to make a fast buck off you.
If you are going to put checks in the mail, drop them off at the post office and not in your own mailbox. Mail theft is on the increase and if you have checks in the mail once they are stolen, the names can be removed with an acid wash. This is why you’re better off taking them to the post office so you know there is much less of a chance that it will be stolen. If your credit card is, expiring and you know a new one is coming than watch the mail carefully. If it has not arrived in sufficient, time than contact the credit card company. Millions of credit cards are stolen through the mail yearly.
Put passwords on all your accounts and change often. The main reason for this is thieves are getting better at figuring out passwords and changing them often makes it that much tougher on them. Do not use common names for passwords. A combination of numbers and letters work best. Using lowercase and uppercase letters together is also a something that you should consider.
Never give out credit card numbers or social security numbers over the phone to anyone you do not know. Many times thieves will try to pass themselves off as a bank officer or important official to get this information. Do not fall for it. People just want the information to do harm to you.
Without a doubt, one of the things that can protect identity theft better than anything is getting your credit report at least twice yearly. This is important for a couple of reasons. The first thing is you will want to make sure there are no things on it that is incorrect. If there is than it needs corrected. It also makes sure your identity is not being compromised. Checking it often will alert you if there is a problem. This is why getting your credit report at least twice a year is a very good idea.
Monitor all credit card and bank statements. Many times when we get these, we do not look them over as close as we can. I mean check every entry so you know it was something you purchased or order. If it is not than call the bank or Credit Card Company and have, it removed right away. Most people do not look these over as close as they should and this is where hidden problems become even bigger.
If possible, get your picture on your credit and bank cards. This is just another example of how you can slow down identity thieves in their tracks. Over the years, we have gotten so use to using our phone numbers on our checks. In today’s world that practice should also be stopped. Many companies now will accept a phone number as a form of payment. This means they will bill your cell phone or home phone for whatever they are ordering. If they do not have that number than it makes it much tougher to do.
Only carry important things that you need in your wallet. If it is stolen or lost, you do not want to have a ton of credit cards or your social security card in there for thieves as you’re just asking for trouble. If you do lose, your credit cards or bank cards report them stolen immediately. This will give the banks and credit card companies the best chance of stopping identity theft from happening to you.
As you can see, most of these tips are straightforward and simple to implement. The fact is most of us doing not and that is why identity theft is on the rise. We have the power to help stop it. Follow these tips and you should have a head start on the thieves who want to see who you are.
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