Identity Theft Protection Tips
How to Safeguard your Name
This section features identity
theft protection tips to help reduce your risk of being victimized by
identity thieves. Identity theft is a crime in which someone deceptively
uses another person’s personal information or identification for
financial or economic gain. It can be devastatingly costly to the victim
and can take years to repair. Unfortunately, identity theft is the
fastest growing in America today. Therefore, one must now more than ever
take the necessary steps to safeguard his or her personal data. Here are
a few essential basics.
Know when your daily mail
arrives and bring it in daily. Some of us let hours or days pass by
before bringing in the mail, either because we are lazy or are out all
day. This leaves us vulnerable to identity theft because the mail is
just sitting there for the taking. A thief can simply walk by, open the
mailbox, and take documents that have vital information on it. It’s
really that easy. By bringing in your mail as soon as it comes in, you
greatly reduce the risk of it being lifted from your mailbox. If your
schedule prohibits you from being home when your mail arrives, get a
mailbox with a lock on it. Alternatively, get a box at the post office
or other mail service.
Shred all papers that
contain your personal information. This is probably the most common
and oldest of identity theft protection tips, yet many still don’t
follow it. The trash is one of the most likely places identity thieves
would look. They don’t take the old cliché, “one man’s trash is another
man’s treasure” lightly. And a thief that is motivated enough will
rummage through the filthiest of trash cans to pull documents that will
possibly lead to the mother lode. Although wanting to throw out
redundant documents to keep the home tidy is understandable, don’t let
them sit out there for days on end undestroyed. Buy a shredder and run
all your paper trash through it before throwing them out, even
the ones you don’t think are important enough. You need to get into the
habit. Shredders are so affordable these days. Pay out the twenty or so
dollars now to buy one and you will avoid paying the thousands of
dollars it takes to fix an identity crime made on you.
Hot
Tip: You can request from all organizations that which you do business
with to stop paper mailings and do official business with you either
through email, on their website, or on the phone. This will
significantly reduce the amount of paper documents in your home and
subsequently lower your risk of being a victim of identity theft.
Don’t carry your social
security card, birth certificate, or passport with you. If someone
steals your wallet or bag, the last thing you want in there is any one
of these documents. With these documents, along with your driver’s
license, credit cards, and insurance cards, a savvy thief can cause
permanent damage to your name. Plus, it will be extremely hard for you
to establish your own identity when try to get help. I know tons of
people that carry these things with them all the time. These people are
at a significantly higher than average risk of being victimized by
identity thieves, yet these documents are largely unnecessary in our
daily routines. How many times in the past twelve months have you had to
show your social security card? Your birth certificate? Your passport?
More than likely, less than 5%. Unless you are constantly doing
transactions that require them, leave them home in a locked box.
Other
Identity Theft Links
Identity Theft Protection Tips
Steps to Prevent Identity
Theft in the Cyber World
Security and
Self Defense Links
Homepage
Identity Theft Protection
Tips
Stun Guns
Pepper Spray Products
Defense Batons
Knives for Self Defense
Security Monitoring Cameras
Security Motion Detectors
Security Intercom Systems
Security Floodlights
Security Dialers
Security Signs and Decals
|
