Preventing Identity Theft
Preventing Identity Theft
and being proactive in your prevention measures is very important in this
day and age.
There are many ways that thieves may use in an attempt to steal your
identity. They may use emails, telephones calls, fraud or by digging
through your garbage in search of private information.
Identity Theft Prevention
There several steps you can take to help stop identity theft from happening
to you.
If you are unfamiliar with what identity theft is, we have a page to
define
identity theft to help you understand.
The first step is to never click on links in emails that take you to a page
where you need to enter your login information. Instead, go directly to
the companies website and log in from there. Most companies will never
sent a login link though email.
The second step is to never give out personal information over the phone.
Identity thieves have been know to contact individuals via telephone and pretend
to be employees of a certain company. During the call they will attempt to
convince you to give out your personal information such as your social security
number. To prevent identity theft, NEVER give out any personal information
over the phone.
Another step to preventing identity theft is to purchase a paper shredder.
Paper shredders should be used to dispose of any mail, papers or documents that
contain personal information. It may seem crazy to think someone is going
to dig through your garbage to find private information, but it does happen and
your are better off to be safe than sorry!
It is also smart to lock any personal documents in a file cabinet or safe,
especially if you employ anyone in your home such as a babysitter or maid.
Preventing Identity Theft
Many people carry their social security cards in their wallets or purses.
This is very dangerous. You should never carry your social security card
on you unless you know that you will be using it that day. If someone were
to steal your social security card it would make it quite a bit easier to steal
your identity.
You will also want to
check
credit report for identity theft to make sure there are no usual items on
the report.
Passwords are a very important factor to help prevent identity theft. You
should not use birthdays, anniversaries, consecutive numbers or letters, and
most importantly not your mother's maiden name for your passwords. These
are too commonly used by most people and do not provide the greatest security.
Some companies automatically use your mother's maiden name for your password.
You need to make sure to ask them to change your password to something else.
You should also use a variety of passwords for your different accounts. Do
not use the same password for all accounts.
Another way to prevent ID theft is to cancel paper bills and statements and
receive them electronically.
Following these guidelines will help you prevent identity theft from happening
to you. But do not stop here and always be on the lookout for ways to
increase your protection even more. When it comes to preventing identity
theft you can never be too careful.
|
