Manny Poohquiao asked:




It’s a disturbing thought that identity thieves out there might be able to access all your private information. This allows him or her to access even your bank accounts, mail, and credit cards. You need to be extra careful so you won’t fall victim to them. Here are some effective measures on how to prevent identity theft.

It’s a disturbing thought that identity thieves out there might be able to access all your private information. This allows him or her to access even your bank accounts, mail, and credit cards. You need to be extra careful so you won’t fall victim to them. Here are some effective measures on how to prevent identity theft.

Protecting Your Snailmail

- Empty your home mailbox promptly, as soon as the postman fills it. If you suddenly stop getting mail, call up the post office quickly. Sometimes, thieves forge your signature, then your mail will be forwarded to another place, providing them with information that can let them apply for credit while using your name.

- When disposing of your bank statements, destroy them completely by putting them through a shredder, before dumping them in the trash. Some identity thieves use trashed bank statements to access vital information. Loan applications and credit card receipts should be properly disposed, too. If you can, sign up for “online statements” only, so no bank account information will be sent to your mail.

Credit Card And ATM Safety

- Sign your credit card or debit card on the back. Sometimes, when there’s no signature, you risk an unauthorized use. To protect your signature, cover it with a piece of transparent tape.

- When you renew your credit card or debit card, make sure you destroy the expired card immediately.

- If your credit card, ATM or debit card is stolen, report it immediately.

- Don’t write personal checks to people you’re not acquainted with. Cash, a money order or a bank draft are more advisable. Personal checks contain your bank routing number and your bank account number, and using these, anyone can simply pull out funds from your account.

Internet And Computer Precautions

- Don’t use computers in public places (work places, public libraries, Internet cafes) when accessing credit cards, bank accounts or applying for credit cards. The passwords and user IDs you use can be stored on the PC as cookies, even after you log out. If it’s an emergency, and you must access your bank account in a public area, clear the stored cookies before logging out.

- When not in use, shut down your home computer, or put it to “sleep” mode. Openly-connected PCs can be accessed by hackers when left on standby.

- Update your computer. Spyware and keylogger programs can get passwords and sensitive data. Update your anti-spyware, anti-virus and firewall. Also, don’t enter suspicious websites. Don’t click pop-ups.

Protecting Your Personal Numbers

- Be careful with your PIN (Personal Identification) numbers. Choose good, strong PINs that no one will guess. Try to memorize them, instead of writing them down. If you do write them down, don’t leave the list lying anywhere. Don’t write them on your ATM card and don’t place them in your purse or wallet.

- Be cautious when giving out your national insurance number or social security number. If an identity thief gets it, loan and credit applications are easier. Ask first how they’re going to be used and how they’ll be protected, before giving out these personal numbers to other people. Also, don’t carry around your social security ID all the time, except when you really need to use it.

Identity theft brings much inconvenience and trouble to people because of its shameful schemes. Don’t fall victim to these identity thieves, and always be vigilant with your personal information. By doing this, you’ll always avoid nasty identity theft scams.

Clifford

easypcsecurity asked:

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Norman

William Harty asked:




If you’re paranoid by thought of your identity being stolen then you have very good reason to. It is more needed then ever these days to know how to prevent identity theft from the millions of lurking criminals who steal identities every single day. Did you know that 1 in 25 people just in America will have their identity stolen each and every year? If that hasn’t happened to you yet, you better consider yourself very lucky.

Here are 3 helpful tips to use that will prevent identity theft from happening to you.

1 – Never give your private information to people over the phone, especially if you do not currently have identity protection. It is extremely easy for anyone to tap into your phones these days and there countless individuals and businesses that make a living as pretending to be your local bank or energy company.

2 – Always use bank owned ATM machines. Did you know of how many erroneous ATM machines are out there? Their sole purpose is to get your credit card numbers and store them. Be extra cautious of this if you live in the big city especially.

3 – Shred all of your documents, especially the important legal ones. There are numerous cases of criminals easily stealing identities simply because its available in recycling bins. You do not want to toss your private information when anyone can easily pick it up.

I hope this has helped you understand how to prevent identity theft more so you can avoid being the next statistic. If you really want to feel secure it is best to have identity protection as well.

Laurie

Jesse Whitehead asked:




Do you realize that as you read this article that criminals are searching for new ways in which to steal your identity? This does not mean they want to actually wear your shoes and sleep in your bed! What it means is that through your personal details, an individual can open numerous bank accounts and credit card accounts, and acquire various financial services. It is essential to understand how to prevent identity theft as otherwise you may lose an untold amount of money to these thieves.

There are two main areas through which a criminal will attempt to get hold of your confidential personal information. First, there is the old-fashioned method of going through household trash to find any documents that may contain such information. If you want to minimize the chance of falling victim to this crime then you should ask your bank or credit card company to cut down on the number of paper statements they send to you. Also, any documents you receive through the mail should be thoroughly disposed of by shredding.

Secondly, the internet has allowed criminals to have many different methods of stealing an identity. Sadly there are new scams being perpetuated all the time on the unsuspecting. For instance, it is possible for your system to be infected with spyware that steals important data from your computer and sends it back to a host computer.

We all receive emails from unknown people promising us money if we give them some of our personal information. Never reply to such messages. If you receive an email that claims to be from you bank, then you should be more than a little suspicious.

It has happened that people have received mails purporting to be from their bank asking for pin numbers and passwords. Only after giving out this information did they discover they had been the victim of a phishing scam.

If you are ever unsure about any correspondence – be it by email, regular mail, or phone – don’t hesitate to double check. It would not take you long to ring up your bank to find out if they have really sent that email asking for your password details.

It is generally a good idea not to store important personal information on your computer’s hard drive. The exception is if you the information encrypted and password protected. A good password and login management software is RoboForm, which allow users to use a master password to protect all of their user names, passwords, PINs and so forth in an encrypted database on the computer.

There are also other software applications that can help you manage your personal information. Just be sure it has a method for encrypting and/or protecting with a master password.

As long as you understand the ways in which identity theft operates you should be able to take steps to protect yourself. Be proactive, and don’t wait until you become a victim to take action.

Helen

John Goldman asked:


You might know that during the last year there were nearly 10 million Americans held victims for identity theft which is a crime which is spreading like wild fire. When you find yourself a victim of this crime you can actually end up in a lot of financial and credit problems.

Furthermore, the thieves can also use your personal information to commit crimes apart from just spending your hard earned money. When they have access to your persona data they might even create new accounts on your name and ruin your credit ratings. The cleaning up of this mess up can be really tough and might also cost you a lot. Therefore preventing identity theft is the best way you can stay away from these issues while protecting your identity.

Personal information

Firstly you must know hat personal information must be kept private. Even though your personal info will unavoidably be made public there are still some items which are highly sensitive and must never be made general. These include right from your full name and address to your social security number, back account and credit card info including passwords you use. Therefore identity theft protection is nothing more than safeguarding this sensitive information. The prevention of id theft also includes gaining knowledge about how this information can be stolen and accordingly taking steps.

How your identity can be stolen?

Your mail: It has been reported by the FTC that millions of people suffered under this crime due to robbed mails. Therefore be careful when dealing with your mails as it can contains a lot of personal information. You should not leave your mail in unsecured location, don’t leave mails more than a night and even get mailbox locks. Your computer: Most people aren’t aware of how risky internet can be and so without proper knowledge and safety you could be very close to being a id theft victim. Therefore make sure you use antivirus and antispyware software, carefully use online shopping sites or use only the trusted ones, don’t be tempted by phishers and ease your PC hard drive even when you sell your computer. Your trash: Your trash box can be treasure of the other. Therefore you should be very careful about the personal documents you discard. In case your social security number, credit card, bank account or any other number is on the sheet make sure it is shred before it is thrown.

 

Protecting personal information

When you keep your personal information safe it can help you prevent identity theft. Thus, you should immediately report stolen or lost debit or credit cards. Most of the issuing companies would instantly cancel all the transactions in case you have lost your card while preventing further credit damage.

Additionally make sure you don’t carry your social security number with you in the wallet which is often a common mistake most commit. Immediately report to a identity theft resource center if you find any changes or if your identity has been stolen so that it can be immediately fixed.



Lynn

Tony Francis asked:


Identity theft is a type of fraud where an individual or group wrongfully takes and uses another individual personal data for use in a fraudulent or deceptive way. Unlike a person’s DNA or fingerprints, personal data is easily obtained and copied through fraud and deception and they can lead to criminals seeking them from economic gain.

The theft of personal information itself in identity theft use a multitude of techniques designed to confuse the victim. A lot of people do not have a clue on how easily their personal data can be stolen. One recorded way criminals do this is by looking over the shoulder or to the side of a person entering critical personal information such as a credit card number or pin code, and listen in or eavesdrop when they are dictating the calling card numbers and codes which they then use for credit identity theft.

These criminals can even attack you when you are at your office or at home. Some employ identity theft tactics like sorting through your trash to look for personal information in old mail or documents you have thrown out. Some can intercept your mail and so you do not even receive them. Others even redirect your mail in order to intercept all of the information from your banks or utility companies.

Identity theft is also a rampant crime on the internet. From “spam” mail, unsolicited electronic mail that are sent in large groups to a large amounts of people in order to get a single reply to mine personal information, to fraudulent websites, internet criminals use all and every means in their disposal to get to your personal information. Phishing, a technique where a fraudulent website which looks like a legitimate website is used to get a potential victim’s personal information, is a common technique criminals use today.

With enough personal data and identifying information a criminal may do a lot of criminal activities through your identity. They can take out loans and get credit cards through false applications and credentials. They can withdraw from your bank accounts, and use everything from telephone cards to credit cards to purchase thousands of dollars worth of goods until the cards themselves reach their limits. This is called credit identity theft Most of the time these criminals also take great length to conceal their activities to the victim by avoiding any type of notification system. This is done by placing false contact information and addresses.

It is very hard to correct the falsehoods that these criminals have committed through your identity. Identity theft has left thousands of victims with the hard task of recovering their identities and correcting the mistakes. It is truly unfortunate that it sometimes takes longer for the victim to recover from the damages than for the criminal to commit the crime.

Therefore, in the case of identity theft prevention is the best kind of citizen response. By using identity theft check systems and other anti fraud techniques, we can help ourselves and each other defeat the rampage of identity theft.



Jennifer

Tony Evans asked:


xactly is identity theft? The most recent statistics indicate that identity theft may be the fastest growing crime in the United States. The estimated cost of this crime is more than $50 billion dollars a year, with the average loss to the victim’s personal information being more than $6,000.

There are many things that you can do to help avoid being a victim of this crime. In this article we will describe things that you can do to help protect yourself as well as what to do if you become the victim of identity theft.

Purchase a shredder and tear up all unneeded financial papers. Shred all of the credit card offers you receive in the mail and do not want. Thieves often will go through your garbage, and all they must to do to obtain the card is sign your name. Do not use simple passwords when banking or conducting any financial transactions online. The best passwords are long ones, or passwords that contain a combination of numbers and letters. Don’t furnish your Social Security number, credit card number, or any financial information to anyone over the phone. Banks won’t ask for this information over the phone since they already have it. Don’t carry your Social Security card or any seldom-used credit cards in your wallet. If you don’t use them, don’t carry them. Whenever you order personal checks, have as little personal information as possible printed on them. You should never put your phone number or social security number on your personal check.

If you do believe that you have become the victim of identity theft there are some things that you should do immediately. First call the fraud units of the three major credit bureaus and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit file. Next,you should report the suspected crime to your local police department. Make sure that you obtain a copy of police reports because creditors will often require confirmation that there was an alleged crime before they will conduct investigations. Next, request copies of your credit report from the credit bureaus to see if any fraudulent accounts were opened without your knowledge or. Call all creditors with whom your identify or identifying data may have been fraudulently used. Also, contact all financial institutions wherever you have accounts that an identity thief has acquired your account or where an account has been opened in your name without your knowledge. You should also place stop payment orders on any outstanding checks that have not cleared, as well as change your debit card, account, and PIN. Always document the names and phone numbers of anyone with whom you discussed your case and keep all original reports and supporting documents. You should also contact The Federal Trade Commission, this is the federal clearinghouse for identity theft protection and identity theft prevention. The many complaints about identity theft that the Commission receives assist it, and many other law enforcement agencies, track down, investigate and prosecute identity thieves. You can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the Consumer Response Center by phone. If you determine that you are the victim of identity theft do not panic, but remember some of the guidelines mentioned in this article.

Rodney