|
|
Identity Theft Is On the Rise: Guard Your Possessions
Identity theft is one of fastest growing crimes in the United States. The loss of your personal identity is not only financially devastating, it is frightening and violating.
With profound internet usage, personal information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and banking information are being ping-ponged across the world wide web.
Many of us take it for granted that our information will be safe and will get where we need it to go. It is far too easy, however, for it to fall into the wrong hands. When it involves sensitive information like social security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, and more, this can be devastating.
How can you prevent this from happening? You need to rethink how and to whom you provide your personal and financial information.
Begin by recognizing potential trouble spots. For instance, automatic payments are increasingly popular because of the ease and convenience they offer. But are they safe for you to use?
Live check interception is an extremely easy way for a criminal to directly obtain all of your personal bank account information and begin purchasing items.
E-checks are also very convenient, but they contain all the valuable information that criminals need in order to make fraudulent purchases. To be safe, you can limit checks to in-store use only.
You should also utilize the online bill payment option on secure websites. This is much safer than using checks and provides identity thieves fewer opportunities to steal your financial information.
Because everyone is experiencing a money crunch in this tumultuous economy, identity theft is only going to grow more prevalent. If you haven't been taking active measures to protect yourself, now is a good time to start.
In addition to online security, pay attention to your paper mail. Criminals are not above rooting through trash to obtain mail with sensitive information. In fact, this is one of the more common means through which identity thieves obtain information.
Credit card and bank statements are gold to identity thieves. They contain all the information they need to make purchases, apply for more cards, and more. Before you throw anything of this nature away, shred it. The few seconds you spend on this are well worth it to protect your identity and privacy.
Lastly, make sure that the information you divulge online is protected by a secure website and that you check your credit score often.
This is will keep you aware of any deviations in your score and your spending. A free credit report is available to you annually, and for a minimal monthly fee you can receive a credit report that is updated monthly and notifies you when credit report changes occur.
Also, by knowing which secured sites you use, if your information is stolen, you can contact them immediately to retract your information. You must be proactive to protect your identity.
|
 |
Please Rate: |
|
Rating: |
 Processing ... |
(Average: Not rated) |
| Views: | 23 | |
|
| More Articles from Law | | |
| Top Articles in Law | | |
|
