Preventing Identity Theft

Preventing Identity Theft - Ways on Preventing Identity Theft.

Preventing Identity Theft

Preventing Identity Theft. Identity theft has been one of the worst crimes happening all over the world.  People pose as other people to get something, usually the money of the people they pose as. 

If we think of the security measures being taken to hide our Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and other vital information, it is quite alarming how people still obtain this information and uses them to steal a lot from us! 

Here are some ways to prevent identity theft:

1)    Put a lock on your home mailbox

Preventing Identity Theft. If the mailbox you keep is readily accessible by anyone, better buy a lock for that.  One root cause of identity theft is that strangers steal your mail, gather as much information as they can on you, then pose as you when doing transactions to get valuable things you own.

2)    Rent a PO Box from the Post Office

If you do not have a mailbox at home, and you are usually away on trips, rent a PO Box from the local post office.  Always have your mails addressed to your PO Box address to prevent others from having access to your mail. 

Deposit your outgoing mail to your PO Box.  Also, request a vacation hold from the Post Office for your mail if you will be away for more than 2 days.

3)    Don’t give financial details over the phone

Preventing Identity Theft. The usual strategy is when people pose as some charitable foundation or a telemarketer for some online store or TV shop, and then they ask for your credit card details.  Give your details to them, and you can kiss your credit line and history goodbye.

4)    Have a private phone number

It pays to have your own private number.  You will be getting only calls from the people you know, and from people who got your number directly from you. 

Make sure that you give your number only to trustworthy people.  This will minimize telemarketers and other fraud artists from calling you and possibly stealing your identity.

5)    Store your PINs in a safe place

It we know it is difficult to memorize the PINs of your ATM cards, credit cards, and debit cards.  It will save you a lot of trouble if you store your PINs in a safe place that is away from your plastic cards.

 If a thief steals your plastic card, he will not be able to use it after a few unsuccessful attempts at your PIN as the system will lock your card.  It may be an inconvenience for you as well, but that will prevent your money from being stolen.

6)    Photocopy both sides of your wallet’s contents

Make sure that you have a photocopy of all contents of your wallet.  If your wallet is stolen, you can easily report it to the proper authorities. 

Make sure you report the theft to the proper companies, (e.g. Social Security, credit card company etc.) as soon as possible to prevent the thieves from using your personals.

7)    Carefully choose your passwords

Thieves can easily determine your passwords, especially for your online accounts.  Make sure your password is very difficult to determine, usually a combination of letters and numbers only you will remember, or something that will not be associated with you.

8)    Always obtain a credit card report

It is always a good move to have a monthly report regarding your credit card.  You will never know what purchases may pop up on your bill.  Call the following major bureaus to have your monthly report:

Equifax: P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

For Fraud Alerts, call: 800-525-6285

Experian: P.O. Box 2002 Allen TX 75013

for Fraud Alerts, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)

Trans Union: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022

For Fraud Alerts, call: 800-680-7289

9)    Keep your records and personal papers in a safe place

Thieves can get into your home, and if they find your personal papers like loan applications, birth certificate etc., they will use these information to steal anything from you. 

Make sure these are in a safety deposit box where only you know its location.  If not, place these in a safety deposit box in a bank.

10)   Have a good paper shredder

Make sure you have access to a powerful paper shredder, usually the crosscut type.  Pre–filled charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're discarding, and mail credit offers should be immediately shredded, NOT TORN TO PIECES, when they will be discarded.

11)   Proper Use of Credit Cards

Do not sign at the back of your credit card.  If possible, always have a photo laminated into your credit card so that a thief cannot use it. 

Also, do not use your credit card in establishments like restaurants, where your card will be out of your sight.  Do not give out any details regarding your credit card.

12)   Be Smart Online

Use encrypted or secure servers whenever you go online.  Do not transact business with unknown websites.  Do not open files sent to you by strangers.  Make sure your virus database is regularly updated.  Use firewall programs to block spyware and malicious advertisements from pop–ups in certain websites.

This information is only part of a collection of articles DidikTimer, hope is something that is beneficial to readers Preventing Identity Theft.   

Please also check out my other guide on PreventIdentity Theft. And Identity Theft Court Cases.

Prevent Identity Theft

Prevent Identity Theft - Is There a Way to Prevent Identity Theft?

Prevent Identity Theft

Prevent Identity Theft. Pretty woman walking down the street, pretty woman… then, a man suddenly seize her handy bag. The woman shouted and begs for help, but the man runs as fast as  a horse until the woman does not even have a view with the man’s shadow….

Would you like this thing to happen? Of course, everybody wants to preserve their property and their money because these are taken from the fruits of their hard work. Stealing one’s property is a violation according to the law, much more with stealing with your personal identity already.

Prevent Identity Theft. Sometimes, it is more acceptable although it is also a crime when somebody stolen your property. The worse thing happens when it is already your privacy or the personal information that you have being taken away from you by the thieves.

Identity theft is a threat against your persona. It reveals everything about you to another person, who is a thief. Thus, knowing all the information about yourself will allow him to make transaction with other people using your identity. You will not only loose the money in your wallet and your bag but the entire property that you have in general.

Prevent Identity Theft. However, do not worry too much about identity theft because there are several ways for you to keep away yourself from being one of the victims of identity theft. If only you will strictly follow these ways, you will be guaranteed with the security of your identity. Check this out!

1. Always keep your things in proper places and securely. – This is the basic thing that you should do. Never allow anybody to fix your wallet where your identification cards, bank accounts and other personal information are placed. Avoid trusting so mjuch even to the closest person to you. Study shows that almost 26 percent of the cases in identity theft, the victims knew who the perpetrators are.

2. Burn all the receipts, personal applications, bank statement and any other kind of forms before you discard them. This will help you to protect your financial data and status.

3. Never give personal information instantly over the phone. Make sure that the person calling reveals to you his real purpose for calling. But it is not still an assurance, it is better if you will see them personally before you give out information about yourself to know the real purpose.

4. Bring the ID that you needed most for a particular transaction. Leave it to your house, if you do not need it at all. This is also one way of protecting yourself from identity theft.

5. Usually, when you make a bank transaction such as depositing or withdrawing, you are to fill up a form. It is better if you only write the last four4 digit of your bank account number. The teller already know the proper thing that they are suppose to do.

6. Surf in the net and know the latest information about online identity theft. You also have a big concern about this since you are making transactions through computers sometimes. Web spoofing is also stealing tone’s identity of the website identity. You don’t know if somebody already knows your financial account number by imitating the website where your e-mail account is located.

7. Take some precautions when it comes to your credit and debit cards. Always keep your credit cards in a secured place. When using it in paying the amount of stuffs that you shop, make sure that you give it properly and get it immediately to the cashier because you can be distracted by the person next to you in line.

8. Secure your ATM cards as well. When you withdraw with your ATM account, secure the card properly. Prevent yourself from being a victim of skimming. This is the process where the machine can be able to get the details of your transaction.

Sad to say but everyday there are about thousands of people who became the victim of identity theft. Sometimes, other people do not have any idea about this knid of crime. It is high time that you should get yourself aware about this before it will be too late.

This information is only part of a collection of articles DidikTimer, hope is something that is beneficial to readers Prevent Identity Theft.

Please also check out my other guide on How To PreventIdentity Theft.

How To Prevent Identity Theft

How To Prevent Identity Theft - Comprehensive Steps on Preventing Identity Theft

How To Prevent Identity Theft

How To Prevent Identity Theft. Have you constantly been hearing reports about identity theft crimes? Do you have any idea about what identity theft is?

What is Identity Theft?

It is the stealing of your personal data like your social security number, licenses number, credit card and bank account numbers, and even your other’s maiden name. 

You do not like your identity be stole from you, do you? 

How To Prevent Identity Theft. Being ready, only for instance some takes your identity is necessary. It might be difficult on your part, not unless you want to go shopping one day and decide to use your credit card, only to know that the department store rejecting your credit card and discover that someone has been using your identity to buy something.

For this, you have to make significant actions to avoid your identity being taken from you. It will take years to clear this issue up if you experience this, so prevention is the best thing that you can do.

How To Prevent Identity Theft. How will you prevent yourself from identity theft?

At Home:

• If you are having roommates, use outside assistance, or finish your work in your home, ensure that your personal data is pleasurably presented to them.

• Place your outgoing mail in the post office collection box or else mail it at the nearest post office, than putting it is an unsafe mailboxes. Remove your mail from your mailbox on time. If you have sudden business trip and will not be able to get your mail, call the postal office to ask for a holiday hold of all your mails.

• Destroy all your bill receipts, duplicates of credit requests, insurance applications, doctor’s prescriptions, and other important mails about you that you got from your mailbox. 

• If there is really a need for this, give your social security number and request to use other forms of identifiers. Do not permit to use one account number for your social security, driver’s license and insurances.

At Work:

• Inquire about data safety guidelines in your office or at any businesses, physician’s clinic or other establishments that ask for your personal identification data. Try to know who has the access to all your personal data and confirm it is hold safety. 

On the Internet:

• If you are making business transactions online, read thoroughly about the confidentiality and safety announcements. If possible, try to know the people who know about your personal information. Make sure that your personal data is handled properly. If for example you are hearing negative feedbacks about the company, do not do business with them again.

• You can use your Pay Pal. You can move a restricted number of finances into your pay pal account and utilize it to purchase goods online rather than using your credit card.

• Avoid giving your personal data over the telephone, via email, or online except you have started, the contact or you already know the person with whom you are having business.

• Before you give any of your personal data, verify that you a having business with a legal party. You can always check for their website on the internet. Be alert when answering to promotions. Identity stealer may generate promotional offers on the telephone to make you give them your personal data.

Are there identity theft insurance? Will you purchase one for you?

There are companies that provide insurance that state about the safety it will give you against identity theft case. Be alert that most creditors will only transact with you to determine the problem, meaning the insurance company are not capable to lessen the trouble.

As for other services, make sure that you know what is being offered before you avail of it.  If you want to purchase identity theft insurance, investigate the company through the Better Business Bureau and other legal agencies to find out if they are reliable and have no complaints on record.

As a conclusion, always be alert and clever. If someone asks for your personal information, may it be a friend, acquaintance, business, ask for the reason why they want it from you.

Know why they want your information, what are they going to do with your personal identification, how will it be kept stored, who the person to know it are, and how will it be secured.

If the person answered it undoubtedly and you are contented with the answer, then he or she is worth of your trust. You can provide them with your information.

This information is only part of a collection of articles DidikTimer, hope is something that is beneficial to readers How To Prevent Identity Theft.   

Please also check out my other guide on Identity Theft Prevention Protection.

Identity Theft Prevention Protection

Identity Theft Prevention Protection - Protecting Your Identity Over Thieves.

Identity Theft
Prevention Protection

Identity Theft Prevention Protection. Recently, there had been plenty of news and stories circulated all over the country regarding Identity Theft. Many shared their real experiences on unauthorized usage of their credit accounts, bank accounts and other services which involve money. At least 5 out of 100 people experience this kind of unwanted fraudulent activity.

Identity Theft Prevention Protection. Thieves will never be after your identity if they will not get any benefit from it. They need your name, birth date, address, etc. to open your financial accounts. One must bear in mind that these personal identification entries are important to validate an account. Thieves will do whatever way they can just to steal your identity and your money.

Your protection depends on you. In this kind of crime, nobody can help you immediately except yourself. The prevention and protection on Identity thieves depends on how wise you are in handling all important information about yourself.

Identity Theft Prevention Protection. Here are some things one must take heed in order to protect himself from Identity Theft:

1. One must keep a photocopy of all his credit cards, bank account numbers and other important information in a safe place. In short, one must make a back-up record of all his personal information and personal numbers. Making back-up copies will help you trace and cancel your stolen or lost cards or whatsoever. One must also not forget that even a simple identification card or a driver’s license is very important and can also be a source of information that can be stolen.

2. Dispose your credit card receipts properly. Do not throw your receipts anywhere or it could be taken by thieves. Receipts contain information about yourself and your account. This information may help thieves to possible steal your identity. Shredding your bills and receipts may not be practical at all. When a bill is shredded the paper are the only thing destroyed but the contents are not. It can be retrieved by pasting all shredded paper together. Instead of shredding the bills, on best way to totally destroy your bills is by putting it to fire. There is no way one can retrieve information in the ashes.

3. Keep in touch with your credit institution. When applying for a credit card and does not arrive immediately to you, contact your credit institution and relay the problem. By doing so, you can prevent any fraudulent activity that may happen.

4. Create a good combination of numbers for your PIN or passwords. Make sure that you choose difficult to guess PIN. Birth dates, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name, usual or famous number combinations, etc should not be used for your PIN or passwords.

5. Regard all personal information personal. Do not give your personal information to anyone who sends you an email and a snail mail. Never give personal information over the phone. Adds on your email offering good promos must be ignored. Do not be tempted by their flowery offerings which only intention is to steal personal information on you.

6. Secure the area surrounding the ATM before using it. Make sure that nobody is around you watching while making transaction on the ATM. Make sure that there are no unusual equipment illegally attached to the ATM. There had been reports about electronic devices illegally attached to the card slot in the ATM. It has cameras on it which can record your PIN as you type it in.

7. Bills must be checked every month. All entries in the bill must be made under your permission. If there are charges included in the bill which you do not know, immediately report it to your credit institution and ask for an investigation.

8. Active and cancelled checks must be stored properly. There are banks that offer service like this.

9. Keep all important documents in your car properly. Do not put any thing which may contain information about you in sight inside your car. You may use the glove box as safety keep for your important things. Never leave it unlocked.

10. Secure all your personal information in your mobile phone and laptop with a password. Remember that laptops and mobile phones are personal gadgets that are to be used solely by you. So keep it personal.

What one takes is a sense of responsibility toward his belongings, personal properties and identity to totally prevent these illegal activities. The value of your identity is equivalent to the value of your life.

This information is only part of a collection of articles DidikTimer, hope is something that is beneficial to readers IdentityTheft Prevention Protection.  

Please also check out my other guide on Ways To Prevent Identity Theft.