Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Identity theft is the practice of using someone else's personal information, without permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. It is considered a felony by law, and one that is, sadly, becoming increasingly common. This is because many of us are unwittingly careless with our personal information, which makes an identity thief's job so much easier.

In spite of the increasing threat, 3 out of 5 Americans surveyed by eFunds in December of 2001 stated that they weren't concerned about identity theft. But once a person's credit has been sullied by identity theft, it could take years to correct it. It could be a tedious and arduous task involving settling up with each individual creditor, one at a time.

While it is hard to keep criminals from conducting their criminal activity, there are measures you can take to protect yourself from people stealing your personal information.

One simple step is to purchase a paper shredder. Get yourself into the habit of regularly shredding all documents before you throw them in the trash. Another simple step is to avoid ever leaving outgoing mail sitting in your mailbox.

Additionally, refrain from writing your Social Security number on any checks you may write. A fifth of respondents in the eFunds polls revealed that they print their Social Security number right onto their checks, alongside the rest of their personal info - name, address, account number, all of which are tools inordinately helpful to identity thieves and others perpetuating similar fraud.

Other good advice on the subject is to keep down the number of credit card that you hold, as well as to get all credit card receipts printed at a merchant. Don't just trust that the employee ringing you up won't pocket that receipt should you opt to leave it behind. And if you find that your wallet becomes lost or stolen a large collection of active credit cards is the last thing you'll want him to find.

Online purchases are extremely common nowadays, and some identity thieves are now turning their attention here. To protect your personal info while shopping online, be sure never to release any personal info until and unless you are getting online with a browser that is secure. If either your browser or the site in question (or both) or not secure, then don't conduct your purchase online, but rather use the telephone.

It's also important, whenever using a password-protected site, to come up with a complicated password that won't ever be guessed. Don't use personal information to protect your personal information.

For example, birthdays and pet's names as passwords are bad (and yet frighteningly common) ideas. The best passwords are a random string of both letters and numbers.

You can also register for a service like Privista that, for an annual fee of just $50, tracks your credit, sending out weekly credit report updates.

If you don't want to sign up for such a service, then you might still want to check up on your credit report regularly yourself. The typical victim of identity theft, it turns out, is completely unaware that it has happened until over a year after the fact.

Being careful with all of your personal paperwork is one of the best and easiest precautionary measures you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. Avoid carrying all of your papers with you at all times, but rather leave those items you know you won't be needing at the time (ie. social security card, passport, birth certificate, etc.) in a secure location that's not on your immediate person.

Only carry with you those items you know you'll need. It's also worth placing a lock on your mailbox, or you can just have all your mail delivered not to your street address but to a PO box.
 

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