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PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

As someone who once had her identity stolen and used by a crime ring of 30 plus people, I wanted to share with you some critical tips so you can avoid being  victim of the most prevalent crime of our times.

The old stick ‘em up or mugging is so passé.  Identity theft is the crime of choice for the savvy crook.  There’s little physical danger for them making it feel less criminal and more cyber stealthy. 

Identity theft is basically the obtaining of another’s personal identifying information for any unlawful purpose including obtaining credit, goods or service without the consent of that person.

This could involve someone using your social security information to apply for a line of credit or obtain a credit card.  Or it could involve them using your credit card, signing forged checks to your credit card company to up your credit limit and then going on a buying spree.  Whatever the crime might involve, there are ways to protect yourself.

  1. Never give your personal information to anyone on the phone unless you initiated the call yourself.
  2. Never toss any personal information in the trash.  These crooks love nothing more than going through your trash and finding a back account number, your social security number and address, and a credit card number.  It’s critical that you buy a paper shredder and  shred anything that comes in with personal information including credit card offers which a stealthy crook can order in your name with a convenient address change.
  3. Monitor your bank accounts: both checking and savings to catch any illegal activity before it starts.
  4. Notify your credit card companies before taking a foreign or our of state trip so they won’t cut you off by accident when they start receiving charges from outside your hometown.
  5. Another thing I love to do… when I pay for something with a credit or debit card and my full card number appears on the slip,  I cross it out.  This will prevent someone from writing down your number when you leave the restaurant and your server hasn’t picked up your credit information.

A company I can recommend to futher safeguard your information is LifeLock, who keeps an alert on your account with all three major credit agencies so businesses or services check with your prior to issuing credit or other considerations to what could be an identity theft crook.  They will also insure you against any losses and help you fix your good name… all important elements to stay a step ahead of the crooks.  Nine million people had their identity stolen in the last year alone.  You don’t have to be one of them




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