Protect Yourself From Identity Theft
Identity theft is one of the scariest crimes of the last decade, not because it's new (it isn't), but because it's getting more widespread and more effective with the advancements in technology. In order to protecting yourself, your best weapon is education. Here's some quick points that you should consider to help protect yourself and your credit file.
First, make sure you are on the government's Do Not Call list, and not just your home phone. Be sure to add in all mobile phones in your household. You can add the numbers at www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.
Second, check your credit report at least once a year. This can be done through a variety of ways, but do not go for those 'free credit report' scams where you have to sign up for a service in order to view your credit report. You can get your credit report for free once a year without signing up for anything. To get your no-strings-attached report, visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You absolutely MUST check your credit at least once per year. You must also make sure that you report any problems to get them corrected. If you are really worried about keeping your credit report completely safe, don't pay for a monthly service to protect your credit until you understand what you are paying for. Most of the things a credit protection service charges you for, you can do yourself. For more information, see the resources at the end of this article.
Never give to a charity unless you know it's legitimate. One of the easiest scams to run is to accept donations for a fictitious charity, and the level of sophistication can run from a guy with a sign and a bucket on a street corner to full-fledged operations with call centers.
Probably the most effective and misunderstood method of identity theft is 'phishing', which is the process of trying to send messages to unsuspecting people in an attempt to trick that person into providing sensitive information. The most common is sending out an email that says your account has been compromised, and that you need to click a link and enter your account details. Then any person who clicks the link is taken to a site that looks very official, and when they enter their information, it's stolen. If you are at all concerned about your account, contact the company in question directly. Do not respond to a random email. The most recent phishing attacks use text messages to your phone, so you need to be aware of the different methods for prevention.
Probably the simplest measure to prevent identity theft attack is to buy a cross-cut shredder and shred anything with identifiable information on it. This includes not only account numbers but also addresses, names and phone numbers.
Use Opt-Out options whenever possible. This means to opt out of junk mail, mortgage company offers, and especially credit card offers. When you get a policy update notice from one of your accounts, say a credit card, don't just take the lazy way out and toss it aside. You don't have to read every word, but you should at the very least look to see if there is some action required by you. This would be a form to fill out or some return information on the letter. This often means that if you don't respond, you may be automatically agreeing to whatever is in the letter, and if that's the case, you should know what you are agreeing g to.
Check your credit card and phone bills each month carefully. Of course it's a major concern if you see charges on a credit card that you didn't make, but many people don't really look over the transactions listed on their statement each month.
Watch out for change of address notifications. A thief can fill out a change of address card in an attempt to divert important mail to another address. Some companies will alert you when this happens; some won't.
Your best offense against having your identity stolen is education, and then, diligent prevention. There are simple things you can do that aren't expensive to protect yourself.
First, make sure you are on the government's Do Not Call list, and not just your home phone. Be sure to add in all mobile phones in your household. You can add the numbers at www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.
Second, check your credit report at least once a year. This can be done through a variety of ways, but do not go for those 'free credit report' scams where you have to sign up for a service in order to view your credit report. You can get your credit report for free once a year without signing up for anything. To get your no-strings-attached report, visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You absolutely MUST check your credit at least once per year. You must also make sure that you report any problems to get them corrected. If you are really worried about keeping your credit report completely safe, don't pay for a monthly service to protect your credit until you understand what you are paying for. Most of the things a credit protection service charges you for, you can do yourself. For more information, see the resources at the end of this article.
Never give to a charity unless you know it's legitimate. One of the easiest scams to run is to accept donations for a fictitious charity, and the level of sophistication can run from a guy with a sign and a bucket on a street corner to full-fledged operations with call centers.
Probably the most effective and misunderstood method of identity theft is 'phishing', which is the process of trying to send messages to unsuspecting people in an attempt to trick that person into providing sensitive information. The most common is sending out an email that says your account has been compromised, and that you need to click a link and enter your account details. Then any person who clicks the link is taken to a site that looks very official, and when they enter their information, it's stolen. If you are at all concerned about your account, contact the company in question directly. Do not respond to a random email. The most recent phishing attacks use text messages to your phone, so you need to be aware of the different methods for prevention.
Probably the simplest measure to prevent identity theft attack is to buy a cross-cut shredder and shred anything with identifiable information on it. This includes not only account numbers but also addresses, names and phone numbers.
Use Opt-Out options whenever possible. This means to opt out of junk mail, mortgage company offers, and especially credit card offers. When you get a policy update notice from one of your accounts, say a credit card, don't just take the lazy way out and toss it aside. You don't have to read every word, but you should at the very least look to see if there is some action required by you. This would be a form to fill out or some return information on the letter. This often means that if you don't respond, you may be automatically agreeing to whatever is in the letter, and if that's the case, you should know what you are agreeing g to.
Check your credit card and phone bills each month carefully. Of course it's a major concern if you see charges on a credit card that you didn't make, but many people don't really look over the transactions listed on their statement each month.
Watch out for change of address notifications. A thief can fill out a change of address card in an attempt to divert important mail to another address. Some companies will alert you when this happens; some won't.
Your best offense against having your identity stolen is education, and then, diligent prevention. There are simple things you can do that aren't expensive to protect yourself.
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To see the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to constantly monitor your credit file , check out the credit padlock, which shows you how to protect yourself from identity theft.