Whether you have been a victim of identity theft or want to prevent yourself from becoming one take advantage of these tips and strategies to keep you safe. Some of them may be very obvious to you, while others may surprise you.
Be Careful of What You Carry with You
• Your Social Security card is unique to you and you alone. Because of this do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet or purse. Also, never write it on checks. Never give your Social Security number to someone who calls you on the phone. In telephone situations give it only to companies that you trust, i.e. a credit card company that YOU have called to verify who you are.
• Although it is easy to forget your PIN number, especially if it is a unique one, which is recommended,
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Hold it on your lap or place it under a coat.
• When you are in an ATM use your free hand to shield someone from seeing the numbers you are punching into the keypad.
Sets To Take In Your Home
• If you are to be away from home for more than a day or two have a trusted friend or family member collect your mail. If that is not possible ask the post office to hold you mail until your return.
• If you are still receiving paper statements in the mail pay attention to your billing cycles and if a particular bill is late contact the sender. Late bills may mean they have gotten into the wrong hands.
• Keep all receipts for transactions. When you are reviewing your account statements, online or on paper, keep a close eye out for unauthorized transactions. If you notice any contact the institution in which the unauthorized transaction was made.
• Invest in a shredder. It is worth every penny. Shred any unwanted receipts, credit card offers, account statements as well as expired credit cards. Basically, shred anything that has any of your personal information on it.
• Invest in a home safe or strong box. Use this to store any personal information in your home or at
Identity theft is a major concern today in our country, millions of a person’s identity have been compromised for many of years. Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s personal information such as name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, or other identifying information to take on that person’s identity in order to commit fraud or other crimes. Stealing an identity is, unfortunately, surprisingly easy to do and happens when you least expect it. Just by opening your mail, something that has personal information on it, throwing it in the trash. Therefore, a person can go through your trash and take all that information and use it against you to take on a new identity.
There is a thief that lurks around us everyday; this thief can attack in brad day light or in the darkest hour, and just about anywhere you may find yourself. This thief has the power to act in your name, make unlimited purchases, open up credit accounts and ruin your good name and credit all in the matter of seconds; if you are vulnerable enough, you might become his next victim. In many cases all he needs is your name and a social security number, and he has enough information to make you his next victim; if you don’t believe me then ask the millions of Americans that became victim’s, or just ask me. The thief that I am talking about is identity theft. Identity theft is a
There is no “sure” way to stop identity theft from happening to someone. There are only measures that may make it harder for thieves to steal someone’s identity because nothing is foolproof. People can shred their important documents after they’re done with them to help prevent their identity to be stolen via dumpster diving, but the thief may find all the shreds and put them together just like a puzzle. The odds of this happening are slim, but there is still a chance, a chance lower than just throwing it out. People should make sure to not use ATMs and not to do personal banking in public, but this will only slow down a thief who is determined to steal someone’s identity. Once a thief is determined to steal someone’s identity and only their identity, there are not many obstacles stopping him/her.
Identity theft is an issue faced on a daily basis for those that are living in our wonderful state of California. For some it is common knowledge to protect your identity but for those that are not familiar with the practices of these common crooks, will cost a lifetime of savings and irreparable damage to ones credit and finances. According to the California Office of Privacy Protection, “there were more than 11 million victims of Identity Theft in the
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My grand mother had her identity stolen once. We found out the elderly are a common victim of identity theft. An entire year went by before she knew her identity was stolen and the only reason she found out was because she found out she was missing money from her account each month to the point that her mortgage payment was not being paid in full each month. She was under the impression the bank took care of everything, her husband was taking care of the finances but he passed away so everything started to unravel. Once she found out she owed the bank a lot of money toward her mortgage and was very behind on payments. She never found out who did it, had to get all new cards and numbers, and is still paying for it today.
Some of the things you can do to minimize the chances of your identity being stolen would be to kep your important, personal papers in a an organized secure place at all times. Shredding personal papers and documents, and making sure that any personal information or account numbers are blacked out if they’re thrown in the trash. Always make sure to keep only any personal information
Local and national agencies are addressing the issues of identity theft. Local officials are able to concentrate on specific occurrences and alert their constituents as needed. They are the first line of defense. City and county websiteshave links to useful information that citizens can utilize. Local libraries and community centers offer classes and workshops on how to prevent identity theft and what consumers can do if theirs is stolen.
The internet and online sites can be an open door for someone to commit identity theft. In order to combat this I need to continue to “create a strong password, by avoiding common or easy-to-guess passwords.” (Greene-Lewis, 2012) I use a password that contains both upper and lower case letters in addition to numbers and I often combine one or more words together to make it difficult for someone to guess my password. It is a bad idea to use common or easily guessed passwords, such as your birthdate or pet’s
Think of it this way. How difficult is it to recall the 4-digit PIN for your debit card? How about your bank's routing number?
Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud crime in America (Finklea, 2009). Gaining knowledge in preventing theft will better the economy and lower the crime rates in America. There are reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft and this number is increasing rapidly as the years go on. It has been reported that an estimate of fifty billion dollars has been charged to our consumers every year due to identity theft (Finklea, 2009).
A. Opening Device: Good Evening ladies and Gentlemen I want to talk to you about one of the fastest growing crimes in America that has affected millions of Americans. Please raise your hand if you carry a wallet or a purse. Now raise your hand if you have a credit card or a social security number, everyone here today is at risk for identity theft.
Identity theft is on the rise in the United States and Globally. The Federal Trade Commission advised that there are about nine million cases of identity theft. People who had their identity stolen often feel like they were violated. Any individual can have their identity compromised in numerous ways. Different institutions store personal information. There are several organizations that have social security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers. Colleges and Universities have people personal information stored in their databases that could be hacked. There are several companies that offer options to people to protect their identity. Most credit card companies offer the option of identity
Identity theft affects millions of Americans every day. Scam artists and hackers lay in wait for an unsuspecting person to get caught up their scheme through ignorance or naivety so they can take full advantage of their personal information to do as they desire with it. Problem is, it infiltrates and depreciates the integral infrastructure of our society which creates a cultural lapse through the declination of economic and cultural growth and double jeopardizes an already unstable system to the brink of its destruction. To understand how
If you truly want to make your Bitcoin account airtight from a security perspective – and don’t mind a little bit of effort – then you can create a cold wallet. We aren’t talking about your standard cold wallet either, as there little more to it than that. Take an old laptop, carry out a