subject: Pre-Paid Legal Redlands, Prepaid Legal, Indentity Theft [print this page] The Top Tips To Stop Identity Theft From Happening To You.
One of the fastest growing crimes all over the globe is identity theft. Yearly, thousands of people are victims of this crime. Identity theft occurs when a criminal takes your personal data such as your Social Security number, credit or debit card and even phone calling cards. They also use it to impersonate you and scam banks, credit card corporations.
Each year an estimated 750,000 U.S. citizens are are victimized by identity theft, according to a government report. Many people may not even be aware that they have been victims, so these numbers could be much higher.
This is a serious crime that can cost thousands of bucks. and destroy your good credit that you have built over the years.
The most common way that identities are stolen is through the internet. Some ways are through computer viruses or phishing. Phishing is when someone sends you an email and says they are bank representative or any other financial establishment you are with. They might say that they are updating their records and need to get your social security number or other private information. They in turn uses this information to get fraudulent credit cards and make purchases in your name.
So to stop this from happening to you would be to never reply to an email that requests any personal information and call your bank or credit card company right away and ask if this email was sent by them.
Also phishing emails won't normally use your real name, they will be addressed to 'Dear account holder', 'Dear Member', or have no greeting at all. These are definite signs that the e-mail is fraudulent.
Sadly, identity theft crimes are growing and can happen to anyone, even you. So get a service that can protect you and your identity.
If you have not found a service yet we would like to recommend you call Pat Adeff a local associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. Call her today at 909-801-4732 or visit http://www.PrePaidLegalRedlands.com
