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IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTIONBY: James | Category: Self Improvement | Post Date: 2008-05-09
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in United States and the FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. An identity theft happens when someone steals private information (like SSN, Credit Card or Birth date ) of the victim and misuses it without the knowledge of the victim. Some examples of this are - the victims credit card is used to buy goods, victims SSN and date of birth are used to apply for a loan or the criminal steals the victims online bank password to transfer money. A common misconception is that all identity theft crimes take place by using Internet, like online bank accounts and online shopping . Although a considerable crime takes place online, lot of crime results when someone loses their wallet or someone steals your mail containing personal information. It often takes months before the victim even knows that his identity has been stolen. According to FTC " While some identity theft victims can resolve their problems quickly, others spend hundreds of dollars and many days repairing damage to their good name and credit record. Some consumers victimized by identity theft may lose out on job opportunities, or be denied loans for education, housing or cars because of negative information on their credit reports. In rare cases, they may even be arrested for crimes they did not commit." What are the most sensitive identity information Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Bank Account Number & ATM pins, Credit Card Information and Online Passwords. How to protect yourself from becoming an identity theft victim 1. Protect your mail (postal mail): Use a shredder to destroy the document . like old bills, financial statements, credit card offers, canceled checks, pay stubs, old credit cards, old passport, old tax forms. Try to use a mailbox that has a lock and your outgoing mail should go in USPS outgoing boxes or post office. Use the USPS "hold your mail" feature when going out of town for a longer time. 2. Avoid carrying a checkbook: They contain your account number. Often the criminal may write fraudulent checks on your behalf to buy something and that results in loss of money or if the check gets bounced due to insufficient funds then collectors may come after you. Notify your bank about loss of checks and keep a copy of your complain. If you think that you have been victimized then contact your local police authorities if needed. 3. Pay by cash or credit card: Paying by cash is the safest. Using credit cards is also safe since, if there is a fraudulent charge you can always report it to the credit card company so they can dispute it. Avoid keeping too many credit cards, having too many credit cards will reduce the probability of noticing that you have lost one of them. If you notice that your credit/debt card is lost, immediately inform the credit card company or bank. Try to use ATM's in daylight or when the surroundings look safe. 4. Keep your computer safe: Use latest anti-spy ware, anti-virus and firewall to prevent unwanted programs on your computer. Try to shop only on trusted sites. Use a good spam filter for your emails and avoid reading emails which look suspicious. Before entering your username and password on Internet make sure the site is secure and the URL looks ok. Use a secure and encrypted wireless connection. 5. Do not carry your Social Security Number/Card in your wallet. 6. Do not give your personal information or credit card information when someone calls you unless you are absolutely sure, someone might just be pretending to be a legitimate caller. Instead call them back so you know that you are speaking on a trustworthy number. 7. When your computer goes bad, do not just throw it away. Take out the hard drive and erase it or destroy it in such a way that data from it cannot be read anymore. 8. Select stronger computer passwords. Combination of letters and numbers, upper case and lower case, longer passwords etc. Change your passwords at regular intervals. 9. Frequently check your credit report/history. Use Annualcreditreport.com for free report. 10. Opt out of marketing phone calls and national do not call registry. One can still become a victim of identity theft due to loss of data by banks or other institutions, hackers and numerous of other ways. Please do your own research before using this information. Visit FTC website (ftc.gov) for most up to date recommendations on identity theft www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ Article Source: http://www.saching.com About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * Beauty Secrets of Ayurveda * How to influence your colleagues with your ideas at workplace * Caged Creatures for Kids. Animals that you can keep at home in a cage. * Be the dreams of the dreamers * Beauty tips on how to take care of the hands Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? It is a violation of our terms for authors to submit content which they did not write and claim it as their own. If this article infringes on your copyrights, then use our Contact us form with the detailed proof of infringement along with the offending article's title, URL and writer name. If you do not hear back from us then contact us again in another 10 days. Thank you. Comments on this article: (0 comments so far) * Additional comments are now closed for this article *
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