People all over the country have been hearing a lot about Identity Theft in the news and in stories. Many people talked about how their credit cards, bank accounts, and other services that deal with money had been used without their permission. At least 5 out of every 100 people have this kind of fraud happen to them.
Thieves won't try to steal your identity if they can't make money off of it. To open your bank accounts, they need information about you like your name, date of birth, address, etc. Personal identification entries are important to validate an account. Because of this, thieves will do anything they can to steal your money and identity.
Your protection depends on you. In this kind of crime, the only person who can help you right away is yourself. Identity thieves can be stopped and protected from by being smart about how you handle all the important information about yourself.
Here are some tips for avoiding Identity Theft:
- Credit card receipts need to be thrown away in the right way. Don't throw your receipts away because thieves could take them. The information on your receipts is about you and your account. Thieves could use this information to steal your identity. It might not make sense to shred your bills and receipts.
- Put a photocopy of all his credit cards, bank account numbers, and other important information in a safe place. In other words, write down all of your personal information and phone numbers somewhere else. If your cards or whatever get stolen or lost, making copies will help you find and cancel them. Even something as simple as a driver's licence or ID card is very important and can be used to steal information.
When a bill is shredded, only the paper is thrown away. The money inside the bill is still safe. It can be found by sticking all of the pieces of paper together. Instead of shredding your bills, the best way to get rid of them for good is to burn them. It is impossible to get information out of the ashes.
- Make sure to keep all important papers in your car in the right way. Do not leave anything in your car that could be used to find out about you out in the open. You can put your important things in the glove compartment to keep them safe. Never forget to lock it.
- Stay in touch with the place that gives you credit. If a credit card you applied for doesn't come on time, you should call your credit institution and tell them what's going on. By doing this, you can stop any kind of fraud from happening.
- Every month, check your bills. All changes to the bill must be done with your approval. If there are charges on your bill that you don't know about, call your credit company right away and ask them to look into it.
- Come up with a good set of numbers to use as your PIN or password. Make sure that your PIN is hard to figure out. You shouldn't use things like birth dates, the maiden name of your mother, the name of your pet, common or well-known number combinations, etc. as your PIN or password.
- Regard all personal information personal. Do not give your personal information to anyone who sends you email and snail mail. Don't give out private information over the phone. You should ignore ads in your email that offer good deals. Don't be fooled by their pretty offers, which are only meant to get personal information from you.
- There is a right way to store checks that are both active and cancelled. There are banks that provide this kind of service.
- Take a look around the ATM before you use it. Make sure that no one is watching you while you're using the ATM. Make sure that the ATM doesn't have anything strange or illegally attached to it. There had been reports that electronic devices had been put in the ATM card slot without permission. It has cameras that can take a picture of your PIN as you type it.
To stop all of these illegal things from happening, each person must take responsibility for his belongings, personal property, and identity. The worth of your life is equal to the worth of your identity.
