ID theft and protecting your good name

Identity theft is becoming a huge problem on the global scale because recently MSNBC aired a 2 hour special called ‘To Catch An ID Thief’ which is identical to the specials the network aired for the past couple years to where they teamed up with the online group PervertedJustice.com to bust internet sex predators. This shows how thieves are selling high priced merchandise in foreign countries having been purchased with stolen credit cards. Coming from experience of having one’s ID stolen came from it’s important to take into consideration what you need to do to protect your information from landing in the wrong hands. Starting off if you get funny emails from financial institutions that claim breach of security out of the blue don’t respond to them because chances likely they’re phishing emails and clicking on links can trigger a hacker to know access your personal information.

 

Anyone who is a victim of ID theft know it’s hard to get your reputation back when you have to go through the painstaking task of correcting your credit history and other things to get the companies to disregard the illegal charges made to your credit cards and canceling purchases made with the card that you didn’t authorize for processing. This comes to that point that people should be extremely careful in making purchases especially over the phone because that’s risky you don’t know who could be copying your credit card number down and could be using it to purchase things. When you use a credit card at the gas station many stations now require you to put in a zip code to verify that the card being used belongs to the owner who’s name appears on it. When using the ATM machine take your receipt at the end of your transaction whether it’s depositing or withdrawing funds, and make sure that there is distance between yourself and the next person since ID thieves are getting creative like using camera phones set to the video camera mode and can film you putting in your pin number. Also use ATMs in areas that are in high traffic areas so that it can discourage possible ID thieves and muggers who target secluded ATMs. When you get your account balance receipt either you rip it up or destroy it when you get home.

 

Shred any bank statements or documents that contain personal information such as a social security number, home address, or any information that can identify you and this is to save yourself from ID theft due to thieves going dumpster diving and especially for those who live in apartment buildings and housing complexes that requires you to dispose of trash in bins or a chute. Now many office supply places like Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, Target, and even Wal-Mart sell paper shredders that also shred credit cards/Ids, and CD-ROMs if they contain confidential files that could be an ID thief’s playground. Also be mindful of what you leave laying around your house even something as innocent as a utility bill can be a possible foundation for an ID thief to take and start opening up accounts in your name and you won’t know it until the bills start coming to you. One tip that helps nail ID fraud is to check your credit report once a year or pay a service to monitor it for you and report any odd or unusual activity taking place and even your credit card companies are making it so that they can identify their customer’s habits from a potential theft on their cards and not holding them responsible for any charges made if the card was stolen. Keep any bank or credit card statements for a maximum of 3 years and then shred them because you don’t want a thief to see your financial history if you threw the bills out.