Identity theft can place your financial affairs in serious jeopardy. Here's how you can protect yourself.
When you were a kid, do you remember wanting to be a famous movie star or athlete? Believe it or not, an identity thief would just love to be plain old you, and there are many ways they can get a foothold in your life. Below are some tips you can use to stop these criminals from damaging, or even destroying your name.
Don't Leave Any Bills in the Trash
A garbage can is like a gold mine to an identity thief. All they have to do is find a credit card statement or some other bill, and that's all they need to make charges on your behalf.
Take Care When Depositing/Withdrawing Money
Keep an eye out for anyone who appears to be lingering close behind before you enter your PIN number at an ATM machine. To minimize the risk of theft, change the code often with numbers which would be hard to guess.
Look Closely at All Your Bills
Make sure your name and address are correct on each and every statement. If there is anything amiss, call your creditors immediately.
Suspicious Phone Calls
Do not under any circumstances give out personal information over the phone to anyone who claims to be from a bank or other financial institution. Credit card numbers, account numbers, Social Insurance/Security numbers and names of family members is some of the information they try to get in order to pretend to be you. If they are unfamiliar, hang up.
Online Shopping
Look for the Better Business Bureau seal when purchasing merchandise online. It's a good bet the company is honest and you will not be the victim of any devious activity. Also, delete any pop-up messages which appear on your computer screen. Not only are they annoying, but they are used by identity thieves to collect personal information.
Using an Old Fashioned Mailbox Is Risky
Either lock it or get your creditors to divert your bills to a post office. Identity thieves will take every opportunity to rifle through your mail as much as they rummage through your trash. If they get hold of any financial information, like a credit card statement for example, they can change the billing address so your bills don't come to your house. They can subsequently make outrageous charges that you wouldn't know about until you get threatening phone calls from debt collectors.
Are You Moving?
Call your bank and let them know you are relocating to a new address right away. You wouldn't want your bills to go to the wrong house or apartment.
Residents of Smaller Communities
This is another point about your mail. Identity thieves like to cruise around country roads and look for the erect red flag on rural mailboxes. Whatever you do don't leave personal checks inside for the postman to pick up. "Check washing" is what happens when criminals make checks payable to themselves by erasing your handwriting and replacing it with their name.
If you think your identity has been stolen, contact the police. They can help you fill out an identity theft report which will provide some protection against creditors/debt collection agencies.
