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Identity theft is one of those things, most people don't
seem to be very concerned about. Well..!! the
problem of identify theft does exist, it is more prevalent than most people
think, everyone may be vulnerable and it is going to take a whole lot more,
than not having the credit cards or not using them on phone or online, to
protect yourself.
Every year, fraudulent charges cost banks and credit card companies billions
and each of everyone has to pay for it as the banks merely transfer most of
these costs to consumers. And that's not it, the victims have to spend
hundreds and sometime thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to
clean their credit reports. Have you ever received an e-mail with your
bank/internet provider or some trusting e mail address or received a phone
call telling you that you have won a sweepstakes or that your bank is just
making a courtesy call for some reason and before they can talk to you they
need to confirm your personal information; or you may have written a check
at checkout counter of a store. Unless you are careful anyone of these
simple looking day to day stuff can result in a criminal mind acquiring your
most personal information.
There is however no need to get paranoid but just be careful. The following
10 tips may help you reduce the risk of being one of the approximately
500,000 victims of identity theft (Identity Theft Protection ) every year.
Guard your Social Security number
The most important step is to guard
your Social Security number. It it is "the" key to your credit report and
banking accounts and is the prime target of criminals. Do not print your
Social Security number on your checks. Do not provide social security number
to anyone you don't know on phone or online. After applying for a loan,
credit card, rental or anything else that requires a credit report, request
that your Social Security number on the application be truncated or
completely obliterated and your original credit report be shredded before
your eyes or returned to you once a decision has been made. A lender or
rental manager needs to retain only your name and credit score to justify a
decision. Monitor your Credit Report
Credit reports can alert you to activity in
your financial records. A monitoring service, such as Privacy Guard, will
notify you whenever someone applies for credit in your name or checks your
credit history. Order your credit reports and check for any unusual
activity. There are numerous Web sites that let you order your report, in
some cases free of charge. It might be useful to get reports from all three
agencies as the reviewer (lenders/employers/rental managers) maybe using any
one of the three credit reports . Remove your name from marketing lists
All credit bureaus maintain
marketing lists that may contain your information. Contact the agencies to
remove your name from the lists. You can sign up for no call registry. Removing your name from these lists reduces
the number of pre-approved credit offers you receive. Keep duplicate records
Keep duplicate records of your license and
credit
cards so you have all the account numbers, expiration dates and phone
numbers in case your wallet or purse is stolen. In the event of a theft,
cancel your credit cards etc right away. Obtain a low credit limit credit card for travel or phone purchases Most
credit card issuers will issue second card with very low credit limit that
you can carry when you travel or use it when you make phone or online
purchases. Also it might be worth it to keep credit limit on your regular
credit card to a reasonable amount. Watch where and how you mail your bill payment Do not to mail the bill
payment from home. If you must, don't leave them in the mail box overnight.
Try to either hand deliver it to the mail carrier or leave them in the mail
box during the day time. If you are comfortable paying from the comfort from
your home, sign up for online payments. Most credit cards and utility
companies have secure online portals allowing you to pay your bills,
mortgage etc. online.
Invest in a good quality Shredder
Don't throw your old bills, credit
card solicitation, old credit card/bank statement etc intact in the garbage.
Shred them with a good quality shredder before disposing them off.
Also, before you throw away your old computer or cell phones, try destroying
hard drives or delete files with passwords and other personal info on them.
Recent study showed that 80% of discarded cell phones had personal and
private information still on them. This can be identity thief's gold mine.
Be Aware of Phishing Scams
If you are not internet savey or new to it, you probably are not aware of
phishing scams. Read more about and see how you can protect yourself from
phishing scams. Be Alert and Aware
Take steps to protect yourself from identity theft with tips from the
federal government Check Online Government Resources
Check out these resources to be well informed about identity theft
FTC Identity Theft Site
US Postal Inspectors site
Department of Treasury
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Get Your Free Annual Credit Report Online
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