My Identity Theft Info

1. Avoid identity theft by using a locked mailbox or a post office box.Thieves love to look in mailboxes for checks, greeting cards, bank statements, etc. Would you leave your most personal and financial information in a box on the side of the road?   No, I didn’t think so. That is exactly what you are doing without a locked mailbox.

2. You should always check your bank and credit card statements to make sure there are no unauthorized charges. This is a good way to avoid identity theft.

3. Never leave your wallet or purse unattended.

4. Never give your social security number unless absolutely necessary. Many places will ask for your social security number but you should always ask and make sure that they would absolutely need that info.

5.Make sure and use a cross cut shredder on all your personal documents.

6. Be careful who you give or sell your old computer to. If you simply delete personal files this doesn’t actually delete them. They can easily be recovered with cheap or free software. You should always format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system if selling computer to someone you don’t know. Even after formatting there is still software that can be used to recover your data so the only way to be absolutely sure is to get out the torch

7. Before you give out any personal information, ask how they will secure it or if it will be shared.

8.  Never give out your credit card number if someone calls you on the phone, no matter who they say they are

9. Avoid accessing secure websites like your bank from any public computers.

10.  Make sure your computer is password protected to avoid identity theft.

11. If you don’t use certain credit cards then you should close the accounts.

12. The 3 credit bureaus let you have a free copy of your credit report once a year. You should take advantage of this offer.

13. Beware of phishing scams. Phishing scams are when crooks get people to go to their fake website that looks like their banks or financial institutions website and when the person tries to login, they capture that persons real username and password and from that point the criminal has access to their accounts. Many times these phishing scams come in email trying to get people to click on a link.

14.  Watch out for people standing too close to you when putting in your PIN and using your debit card.

15.  Never make your online passwords easy to guess. Like using your dog’s name which is available for anyone to see on some online profile.

Just remember to always be careful with your personal information.