Preventing identity theft is something that people from all across the world are trying to do today. No wonder with the advent with internet the world has come to our fingertips and life has become easier. However the problem of identity theft has arisen over the past decade and people are trying to fight it from all nook and corner of the world. The criminals are also trying to find new ways everyday to break into the security code.
The first thing that you need to promise yourself is that you will keep your ATM or Debit card safe and be careful with your PIN. You need to avoid setting your date of birth as your PIN. Please promise yourself that you will not write at the back of your card at least. Another thing that you need to be careful of is your passwords. Make sure that they are at least 8 lettered and don't keep them simple.
Okay you need to notice this that while entering a PIN you need to see that there is no one checking on your details over your shoulders. Please shred everything that you can. It can be starting from your ATM receipt to your mails which are junk. Talking about mails you should not forward all those chain mails. That is something that you need to start avoiding at once. This will help you in preventing identity theft to some extent at least.
One more important thing is that you need to go through your credit report at least once a year. This is very important as you need t validate the accuracy of your report is valid. Remember to shred everything that you have as these notorious criminals don't leave the dustbins! So you need to shred everything that you can which has sensitive information.
Never disclose your details over the phone. Sensitive numbers like Social Security Number or your credit card numbers should never be made public. You need to protect your details from everyone. Do not give your information to a stranger and be very conscious of that.
Report about your stolen debit or credit cards at once and never ever delay in that. A few more things are that you need to remember is to change your passwords after every quarter or so. Then you need o upgrade your computer with the latest antivirus.
You should not take this menace lightly at all. You should try and do the best you can to avoid this problem which lurks in the society. You need to act like a responsible citizen of the world and help in preventing identity theft if you can with your best efforts.