Identity Theft - Protect Yourselft From Stealing Your Info
Identity theft may be the fastest growing criminal action within the 20th Century
, replacing illegal drug sales.
How Large is this Problem?
Banks, charge card companies and businesses that house servers storing passwords or other sensitive information all statement break-insthrough Trojan viruses or other online hacking methods resulting in the loss of millions of pieces of information. Instances of lost information are employees selling it along with other lax security measures resulting in thieves getting access for your identity.
Thieves Want
- Your Name
- Date of Birth
- Home Address
- Telephone Numbers
- Social Protection Number
- Drivers License Amount
- Credit card Quantities
- CW2 Security Code (the amount about the back of the credit card)
- Your Credit Report
- ATM Cards
- Phone Calling Cards
- Mortgage Details
Exactly where Are They Getting Your Info?
- Banks
- Credit-Reference Companies
- Retailers
- Charge card Networks
- Data-Brokerage Companies
- Payment Processing Companies
- Telephone Companies
- Schools
- Your Employer
- Doctors, Clinics and Wellness Departments
- Government Agencies
There are other effective techniques:
- Dumpster Diving
- Mail Theft
- Retail Theft
- Phishing/pretexting/pretending
- Purse/Wallet Theft
What are Thieves Using Your Information For?
- Making charges to your existing credit charge cards
- Opening new credit charge cards in your name
- Having telephone or utilities turned on
- Withdrawing cash from your current bank accounts
- Employment purposes
- Drivers Licenses
- Tax Fraud
- Social Support benefits
- Student loans
- Company or Personal loans
- Wellness care
- Mortgage loans/leases
- Auto loans
- Utilizing your ID when caught committing a crime
How Can You Protect Yourself?
- Maintain a photocopy of the credit cards, financial institution account numbers and investment account quantities inside a safe
place
- Maintain your charge card receipts
- Set a fraud alert on all your credit score reports
- Should you apply for credit and the greeting card doesnt arrive on time, call the greeting card issuer
- Select difficult PIN numbers or passwords. (Do not use birth dates, your mothers maiden name, etc.)
- In no way give personal info to anyone who sends you an email, a letter or calls you asking for it
- Shred personal information
- Do not use the ATM machine if somebody is watching you
- Pay attention to whats heading on close to you cell phones often have cameras in them. If someone is standing by you with a cell phone while you are entering a PIN number, block their view
- Review your bills each month. If theres something you dont keep in mind, call the creditor.
- Examine your credit statement at least as soon as a 12 months
- Store your cancelled checks safely.
- Dont leave your purse in plain sight when driving
- Keep your valuables locked in the trunk or glove box when driving
- Make all individual info in your computer password protected
- Dont carry information about your PIN quantities, passwords and account quantities in your purse or wallet
Warning Signs that Your Identity May be Stolen:
- A loan application is denied, or youre refused extended credit score requests
- You are contacted by a debt-collection agency
- Your purse or wallet may be stolen, or your house broken into
- Unfamiliar activity on your credit score report
What to complete if it Occurs to You:
- If your purse or wallet is stolen, call the police
- Contact your financial institution, charge card and other credit extending companies and report the theft
- Close accounts
- Contact the credit-reporting companies
- Have fraudulent action removed instantly and monitor your credit score report every 90 days for the next 12 months
- Put everything in writing
- File a statement using the Federal Trade Commission
- Alter passwords in your existing accounts and create new ones for new accounts
Identity theft is real. There are no guarantees you can keep your info secure, by getting proactive steps to guard your self, you are able to minimize your probabilities of having an identity crisis.
by: Amy Wells
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