Identity Theft Articles

It seems like everything has a password these days. Though it may be difficult to keep them all straight, curb the idea of making them all the same. Granted, life would be much easier if your online banking, telephone banking, home email and work email passwords all correlated with Fluffy, the family bunny rabbit, but it’s just not safe. In fact, not using your kids names or anything that is relevant to you at all is the type of password that is the least likely to be hacked into.

Ever been in line behind a high maintenance woman at the grocery store? She whips out her wallet to pay for groceries and oh my– look at all those credit cards. Not saying that there aren’t some high maintenance men out there with a lot of credit cards too but statistics show that women tend to carry more cards than men. Point being–only carry what cards you need. Also, it’s not a good idea to carry your social security card with you daily. If that were to get in the wrong hands you’d really be up a creek without a paddle.

I cannot stress enough the importance of requesting your credit report a couple of times a year. My advice is to obtain a copy every 4 months. You are allowed one free report from each of the major credit bureaus every year via the annual credit report website or by calling 1-877-322-8228. The faster you find out someone has made a move on your credit, the more likely you are of stopping them before they strike again. Think you don’t have time to go over the credit report that often? It’s going to take a lot longer to fix the damage once it’s been done, so take this preventative measure.

Ever wonder what happens to your information if you switch insurance companies or apply for a loan that you later decide against? Those places are required to keep your information on file for a certain amount of time. Where do they keep it and for how long? When they do get rid of it–what is the manner in which they discard of it? These are important questions to ask before you decide to give them your business.

This one sounds silly but you’d be surprised how many people fall prey. Don’t give your personal information out over the telephone or online unless the website is secure. You can tell if a website is secure if the web address begins with “https.” I received a call one day from a lady claiming she was with my bank. She said she just wanted to confirm the last four digits of my social security number before telling me the reason for her call. I can understand where she was coming from but being in the financial services industry, she must have realized that she was putting me in a compromising situation. Needless to say, I did not oblige.

Remember that predators will say just about anything to get you to give them information that will gain them access and send your life spiraling out of control before you know it. Proceed with caution whether it’s on the phone, online, or paying for your groceries.