Preventing Identity Theft
You’ve spent a good number of years perfecting your credit, so that your financial record reflects what a great consumer you are. If you watch television they’d have you believe that there is some guy with a genius IQ sitting behind a computer somewhere waiting for you to come online so he can steal your information. They’d have you believe there’s nothing you can do to prevent it, just pick up the mess, but that isn’t true at all.
The internet is not the biggest threat here, only 10% of cases are internet related. Almost half of all reported crimes are committed by someone you know, a relative, friend, coworker, housekeeper. Another third of cases result from a stolen wallet or purse. Credit monitoring is not a failsafe, it almost never catches identity theft in the act, and identity theft protection only helps you after the theft has occurred. But what can you do? Be proactive and assume that you will be a target, because if you have a credit card and a social security number you are a target.
First, put an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. This will make sure your information is never sold for solicitation. Further it will ensure that no one can be approved for credit with your name unless the credit bureau calls you personally for your approval. Keep in mind that these initial alerts only last 90 days, then you have to write to the credit bureaus to extend that up to 7 years.
Establish a security code with all your bank and credit account. This will mean that you must provide this information to use the cards, but so will anyone else. These two simple, free steps will make you virtually identity theft proof. Someone can steal your wallet but they will never be able to get credit in your name, making your information worthless to them. Even after you have done this it’s always advised to check your credit reports regularly and keep a list of all your accounts in a safe place.
Written by on June 11th, 2009 with no comments.
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