subject: The Critical Step To Avoid Identity Theft Is To Keep Your Mouth Shut [print this page] Did you know that the number one source of information for identity thieves are the words that come out of your own mouth. In order to control this source of information you must first develop a privacy mindset. What do I mean by this? Just that you must realize that no one is entitled to know your home address, home phone and personal finance data under any circumstances, and even including the government.
I mean, we can blab about the most personal stuff without a care. I am talking about times like talking to a friendly stranger which ends up being disastrous as he uses the information against you or the family.
Think about it, if a person knows where you live, he can then go to your house, go through the trash on your curb, steal the mail from your mailbox, find out what car you drive, what you own like that boat or RV sitting out front, how many young children you have, when your wife is home alone, etc.
Do you really want someone to know all this? Of course not. Then the first place to start is with your own words.
How many times have you engaged in conversation with someone and been asked, "So, where do you live?" We then automatically respond with something like, Oh, I live in such and such neighborhood, or down by the old schoolhouse, etc. How about the information you put on your checks, or when you are giving information to the doctor, or some merchant to sign up for that buying club membership.
Even when you sign up for a cell phone, it calls for an address and we naturally give our home address. Perhaps you did a kindness and someone wants to send a gift to thank you.
So, what do we do? We use an alternate address, sometimes called a ghost address.
Here are a few ways you can do this. Use the address of a trusted family member. If you have a lawyer or an accountant, perhaps they will allow you to send mail to their address (for a fee, of course). There are commercial agencies that receive mail much like a post office but they can also receive packages and forward mail for you. There are even private individuals who will handle your mail for you. Do your due diligence.
It is simply a matter of calling the DOL to change your address that is on file for you driver's license. The same goes for the vehicle licensing for your cars and other recreational vehicles. And don't forget to change the addresses for all those magazines and newsletter subscriptions, etc.
You'll need to call the credit bureau to and give them a change of address. By now you can see that your residence will not be connected to your name in anyway. When a stalker/thief tries to run any numbers or addresses in the many publicly available databases, all they will get is the ghost address. Where you reside is safely hidden.
For a more secure way to receive mail, you might have two or more distant addresses - one for receiving bills, bank statements and tax documents. Another one for receiving/forwarding your driver's license, vehicle registrations and such. These forwarding services may even be located in a distant city of state and then they send it on to your local address where you can pick it up at your convenience.
Achieving a degree of privacy is a simple as keeping your mouth shut and only giving limited information about where you live. In this way you can avoid identity theft.
