How To Prevent Your Identity Being Stolen

Identify theft is becoming one of the highest growing crimes in the world with more people each year falling victim to these devious criminals

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Although, there is no sure way of fully eradicating the risk there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce your risk of becoming a victim.

1) If you do not check your bank or credit card statements on a regular basis then, ensure you get into the habit of checking them regularly in order to find any irregularities.

2) Acquire a copy of your credit report as this will provide detailed history of your financial habits, credit card applications and any debt you have. Check it thoroughly and if there are any entries that are inaccurate that could affect your record report it immediately. You can get a credit report from two of the leading credit bureaus Equifax and Experian.

3) A large proportion of ID fraud is a result of criminals using people's previous addresses after they have moved. Before you move contact companies that send you mail through the post and advise them of your change of address. You can also contact your post office to redirect any mail to your new address for up to 6 months.

4) Criminals can also use your address details for fraudulent activities by looking through your rubbish. Buy yourself a paper shredder and use this to shred all letters and correspondence with your name and address on it.

5) More ID fraud is being committed online. A common tactic used by online criminals is sending out thousands of emails to unsuspecting people asking them for their bank details. Never provide your banking details after receiving a request from an email no matter how authentic it looks. You have to ask the question why a bank would want to know you're banking details when they already have it!

6) If you use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or Bebo be careful not to put in any personal details such as your date of birth in your profile.

7) If you shop online on a regular basis then make sure the website that you are providing your credit card details is legitimate and secure. You can do a simple check by looking at the browser details when you arrive at the site. It should begin with a http' or a https'. When you go to the checkout look for a yellow coloured padlock symbol which usually can be seen at the bottom right hand side of the screen.

How To Prevent Your Identity Being Stolen

By: James Mako

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