Identity Theft Prevention Tips - How to Help Prevent Having Your Identity Stolen |
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By: Chris Hecker Posted: 2009-01-03 07:13:38 |
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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA. In fact, the FTC estimates that as many as nine million Americans a year fall victim to identity theft.Identity theft has been called the crime of the information age. The Internet has simplified our lives immensely by increasing the accessibility of personal information. Unfortunately, identity thieves have taken fall advantage of the ease of access online of peoples personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, and credit card number. The crooks steal and use this information, without your permission, to commit crimes such as fraud.Don't cut up your credit cards and cancel your Internet connection just yet. Experts say that the key to protection from identity theft is prevention. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that you can take to help prevent you from becoming yet another victim of identity theft. * Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them. Better yet, on a regular basis check your credit card and bank statements online to ensure no unauthorized charges have been made. If your bank account or credit card statements are more than a few days late, call them to check your account balance and to make sure that they still have your correct address.
* Don't have blank checks mailed to your home. It is a good idea to pick them up at the financial institution instead. * Never give personal identifying information over the telephone or the Internet unless you initiated the contact. * Don't ever respond to an email query from a financial institution, auction site, or anyone else for that matter to confirm your identity on a website. Legitimate organizations will never ask you for this info via email, so you should never reveal it. * Never click the hyper links in an email, even if it looks perfectly legitimate. Get into the habit of typing the URL into your browser instead. * If you are not the customer of the financial institution or other company that's trying to get financial or personal info from you, delete the email. It is probably a phishing scam. You can also forward the spam to spam@uce.gov as well as the company or financial institution that was spoofed in the email. If you are insist on visiting the site linked in the email, provide them with a password that you know to be false. If the site accepts the password, you will know that it is not legitimate. * Use anti virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software and keep them up to date. * Never email personal or financial info, as email is not a secure way to transmit info. * Avoid supplying your Social Insurance number (Canada) or Social Security number (USA), or for that matter personal information of any kind, over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact. * Check your credit reports once a year. If you are a victim of identity theft there should be some telltale signs, such as a new account you didn't open or an address change you never made. * Cancel accounts you don't use or seldom use. * Memorize PIN numbers and passwords. NEVER write them down. * Don't leave mail in your mailbox overnight on weekends. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If going away for any length of time have the post office hold your mail for you. Deposit outgoing mail at the post office. * Shred or tear up unwanted documents that contain personal information before discarding them in the trash. * Never leave receipts at bank machines, bank wickets, in trashcans, or at unattended gasoline pumps. Make sure that you destroy paperwork you no longer need.Christopher Hecker is the webmaster of Internet Security 101. This site contains free info, tools, articles, and tutorials on Internet security and privacy, including identity theft. |
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