By Larry Goldberg

 

Finding out that someone has stolen your identity (and your money!) is a horrible feeling – you feel used, violated, and very vulnerable. 

 

Thankfully, most of these situations can be resolved with minimal hassle, but of course it’s best to stop them before they start.  There are several identity theft prevention tips that everyone should incorporate into their lives that could potentially save them from becoming a victim.  One of the easiest things that people can do is to properly destroy their personal documents, such as statements that contain account numbers or their social security number (identity thieves love this information!). 

 

Credit card offers that come in the mail should also be destroyed as thieves can easily open fraudulent accounts using these mailers.  It’s also a good idea to watch what is going OUT in your mail box.  Don’t put bills containing your personal checks or account numbers in the box where just anybody can grab them. 

 

Checking out your credit report every so often is also a good idea so that you can monitor the activity on your credit accounts.  This report will detail all your accounts and any accounts that have been applied for. 

 

Click on Privacy Matters to find out more tips that you can use to aid in identity theft prevention.
 

By Larry Goldberg 

With all the hype these days about identity theft and how it’s becoming a bigger problem than ever before, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself.  Identity theft scams begin when a thief gets their hands on your personal information, like your credit card account numbers, bank information, and social security number.  Once they have this, it’s not difficult to open a bogus account using your name.

 Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to safeguard your good name.  Invest in a good cross-cut shredder and destroy old credit card statements that you don’t need.  Get rid of those credit card offers that come in the mail, too, as someone can easily snag one of those out of your trash or mailbox and use the information inside.  Speaking of mail, if you send your bills out this way, drop them in a postal box instead of just sticking them in your mailbox where anybody can grab them and get a hold of your checks and account numbers.  It’s also a good idea to be careful about giving out personal information unnecessarily.

 Identity theft is threat to all of us, but there are things we can do to prevent it.  To learn more, click here.