subject: Protect Yourself From Identity Theft, Check Credit Report [print this page] Our society deals with the one of the most common crimes today and that is identity theft. There are so many experienced scammers on the loose that people just want to make sure that they get identity theft protection. If your personal information is now accessible through the web, how can you be certain that you are protected from identity theft? Maybe you can never be certain but you can be cautious and prevent yourself from being a victim.
Start from your own home. Make sure that your mailbox is lockable so your mails remain safe from stealing. Do not casually throw in a garbage bin credit card applications that are pre-approved, shred them before disposing them. If you get rejected for a loan or insurance application due to low credit report score, check with a reputable credit bureau to avoid credit repair scams. Inspect your utility and subscription bills to be sure that the charges you are going to pay are really made by you. Limit your credit cards to one or two and cancel all accounts that you are no longer using.
Keep your information in your wallet or purse limited. Carry only necessary things in your wallet or purse and avoid bringing extra credit cards, Social Security card, passport and birth certificate. Do not write passwords down, memorize them. Shred receipts of your debit, credit and ATM cards before throwing them away. Do not ever leave your personal belongings unattended. This is probably the most vital among identity theft protection tips. Keep your wallet or purse out of plain view even in a locked car because it will tempt scammers and a lot of them are experts when it comes to stealing.
Secure your SSN and account access. Unless you are sure that a call is legitimate, never give information pertaining to your accounts and Social Security information through the telephone. Personally pick up new checks from your bank and do not let them deliver it to your home address because they can be intercepted by identity thieves. Also, prevent financial institutions form printing your SSN on your checks. Again, if you find that you need to repair credit report, consult legitimate credit bureaus and not just some random credit report repairing company.
Precautionary measures are the best you can do in order to avoid identity theft. Be sure to monitor your credit report, too. You are entitled to one free credit report once in every 12 months. If you find something suspicious in your credit report, immediately report it to credit bureaus so necessary actions can be taken. You can also take advantage of that free credit report to make sure that you have a good credit report score.
