Whether you have some extra money to play with or funds
are very tight these days, the one thing you don’t need coming into your life
is identity theft.
Unfortunately, countless Americans end up finding themselves
victims of identity theft. When that happens, their worlds can be turned upside
down, leaving their financial lives in precarious situations.
With that in mind, there are ways you can lessen the odds
that you and/or a loved one will become a victim of identity theft, allowing
you to sleep a
little better at night and not worry about your financial future.
Be
Cautious and Be Smart
In order to stay one step ahead of identity theft
criminals, remember these tips:
·
Loose lips sink ships – Be very careful when
it comes to giving out personal information such as credit card numbers, PINS,
Social Security account information and other such sensitive information. It
just takes one misstep to throw your life into financial upheaval, sometimes a
problem so bad that it can be hard to financially recover from. Even though you
likely trust family members and others very close to you, be just as careful
giving them any personal account information. While they’re likely not going to
be malicious with it, they could have the data on a piece of paper etc. and
lose it or have it stolen just as easily as you could;
·
Educate yourself – It is also important to
educate yourself on how to protect your important data, what thieves look for,
and what the financial implications of losing just one credit card or other
important personal item can be. You can use sites such as itpbureau.com or
others like them to learn all you need to know about identity theft and why you
need to avoid it at all costs. When you’re better educated about the
ramifications from identity theft, you are better prepared to not only recover
from it should it happen to you, but also better prevent it from happening in
the first place;
·
Avoid leaving a trail – One of the worst
things you can do is leaving a paper trail for the entire world to see. Keep in
mind that identity thieves will oftentimes “pay” others to find out information
about you. For example, say you take your credit card receipts (including those
that have a copy of your signature on them from a restaurant etc.) and just
dump them in the outdoor trash can, not having properly shredded them. Someone
comes along (perhaps a homeless person) and digs them out of the trash bag,
then passes them on to an identity thief. In return, the thief pays off the
person who gave them the financial information. Now financial data that you
didn’t want anyone else to have is in the hands of someone with ill intent
towards you;
·
Don’t fall for scams – Another ploy to keep
an eye out for is a financial scam. If you get a call, email or letter from
someone (oftentimes they will pose as a business you are familiar with)
claiming to represent this or that business, do not give out personal
information like a Social Security number, PIN etc. Always make sure you can
properly identify any entity asking for personal details about your finances,
allowing you to avoid falling into a trap.
With all there is to lose in becoming an identity
theft victim, practice sound financial decisions when it
comes to your personal information.
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