Protection from Identity Theft Knowledge

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It seems that there are more headaches with identity theft now days than ever before. Could it be our constant connection with the Internet? Just maybe things are crawling into your personal files that you never invited. Yeah, it’s certainly a scary thought. Maybe it’s time you asked yourself, what am I doing to put a stop to identity theft? You should know that there are certain measures you can take in order to stay safe. The truth is we all need shelter from identity theft, because it’s impossibly to keep up with who might snatch our personal information. 

Consider a few preventative steps. Number one is to guard your social security number with your life. Now I’m not telling you to die for it literally, but you get the general idea. Most folks do not need this information. Sure, you will use it a great deal in college, and maybe a few times after when you buy a home or vehicle. Maybe take out a life insurance policy. But in general it’s not required to reveal, and I would solemnly question those who request it. Another step you can take for safety from identity theft is to avoid random scams. Most likely you’ve encountered some of these by email before. Maybe they tell you that you’ve won some kind of lottery or something unbelievable. Don’t take the bait! It’s clearly too good to be true. You should always be sure to shred your personal mail/documents. Destroy it and don’t allow others to get their hands on it. They could ruin your credit if they do. Always keep your financial information to yourself. If you’re going to purchase online, I suggest you get a credit card that supplies you with a specific online number. This helps put a stop to against others getting access to your real card number. 

Get a credit report! You can acquire one of these online for free. Find out what’s presently up with your credit standing. You have to check these things on occasion. Someone could have already blemished your credit without you even knowing. And always be certain to safeguard your personal computer from viruses and spyware. Don’t let hackers slip in and steal your information. Finally, make sure you stop pre-approved credit card pitches. Someone else could get their hands on this and go shopping. When in doubt, ask oodles of questions regarding any pitch or purchase. These measures will help with shelter from identity theft.

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Useful Identity Theft Protection Tips

Identity theft is something that can affect almost everyone – no matter where they live, and regardless of your age, social standing or race and color. Thieves may spare your car and your near and dear ones and may even leave your wallet unaffected because they have another target in mind - your identity. The cases of identity theft continue to mount and companies as well as individuals are losing billions of dollars as a consequence.

Reduce Chances Of Identity Theft Taking Place

It is therefore necessary to learn about some useful tips regarding proper identity theft protection which will help ensure that the chances of having your identity stolen are greatly reduced. The first (and, perhaps simplest tip) is to shred documents containing vital and important information. You need to destroy your outdated credit card statements as well as your bank statements and also medical bills by running these through a shredder that only cost about thirty dollars; but, which can help save you thousands of dollars.

It is very unwise to put your social security card in your wallet and carry it about with you. This identity theft protection tip is extremely important and must be adhered to. It would in fact, be far better for you to lock your social security card somewhere safe – such as in a safety vault. Instead of carrying the social security card with you it would be far better to memorize the number – though not by writing it down on a piece of paper.

Another important identity theft protection tip is to be very careful when submitting your personal details. Identity thieves are very clever and will use all sorts of sophisticated means by which to steal your identity. They could create fancy websites; offer you jobs or even claim to be sending you emails from your bank requesting personal information from you.

Identity Theft Protection Tips

Yet another identity theft protection tip that can help save you from becoming a victim of identity theft is to use security envelopes when sending personal information documents through the mail. Such envelopes will ensure that identity thieves will not be able to view the information contained in the documents enclosed in the envelopes.

Lastly, you should also pay attention to another identity theft protection which is to Xerox the contents of your wallet and file the copies away in a safety vault in order to keep a copy of important information contained in your wallet. Such copies will prove to be very important in case you loose your wallet or even when the wallet is stolen.

Credit card fraud too is on the rise and this is another area where you will need to learn about how to prevent such form of fraud. Identity theft can occur in a number of ways and so, even in case you have not given out your personal information; or, you have not had your wallet stolen; identity thieves can (and will) strike in very novel ways to deprive you off your identity. Taking extreme identity theft protection measures is the best way to combat identity thieves.

Deciding On An Identity Theft Protection Service

This is why I wrote this article.

Last week two co-workers were talking about which was better LifeLock or Debix. I actually paid attention to this argument as I too was considering purchasing identity theft protection. This is what became apparent to me.

Lifelock is the market leader when it comes to identity theft protection companies. They do all the work for their clients even though many things could be done yourself for free such as placing and renewing a fraud alert. In order to get attention and show how confident they are in being able to protect your identity, Lifelocks CEO actually made his social security number public. This marketing was successful because this is what made me take notice of them.

In addition, LifeLock is able to generate positive public relations for itself because they have been recognized by multiple agencies. LifeLock has some illegal databases for your private to ensure it is not being sold. True Address verifies with databases that your address has not been changed by an identity thief.

LifeLock the only identity theft protection service who can effectively protect children from identity theft. LifeLock is ISO 27001 certified which shows that their security procedures at company headquarters is top of the line and really secure. They seem to have invested in such which makes them able to provide real protection of the private that people turn over to them. LifeLock was also pioneered the $1,000,000 identity protection policy.

As for Debix, another identity protection company gaining traction in the identity protection racket, is almost as good as LifeLock. They also put a Debix Safe Phone Number in your credit report, not your phone number. This keeps your phone numbers private. In addition, during the credit approval request process, reporting fraudulent credit requests is easy to report to law enforcers by pressing a button on your phone. Simply hit star to be connected to a identity theft specialist who will help you contact the appropriate authorities.

Did you know Debix has a patented system that offers a secure interface for identity protection? Their utilization of fraud alerts is the best. Debix also provides an audit trail in case an imposter impersonates you.

Both Debix and LifeLock place fraud alerts on your behalf and get you a copy of your credit report. They also stop pre-approved credit offers and reduce your junk mail. Debix also removes you from telemarketing lists.

The essential differences are Debix’s unique fraud alert system and low price $24/year compared to LifeLocks additional offerings including Erecon, TrueAddress, WalletLock and, of course, the $1 million service guarantee.

I presume this helps you evaluate which company you should use. In my opinion you get better protection with LifeLock but at $24 a year Debix identity protection is definitely in the running. Especially since it is $75 cheaper than LifeLock.

Avoid Medical Identity Theft - The Latest ID Crime

A lot of people understand what identity theft is - someone uses your name, social security number, or credit card numbers to establish their own financial accounts, to pretend that they’re you, or to steal everything in your bank accounts already.

There’s a new crime though that’s been creeping up already, and that’s medical identity theft.  Some may not understand the seriousness of this type of crime and may wonder how it affects them as a victim, but there are some reasons why it’s important to take seriously the threat of medical identity theft.

For one thing, medical identity theft is usually tied in with insurance theft or fraud.  A person claiming to be you so that they can get medical treatment or care is probably costing your insurance company money as well as the doctor’s office or hospital makes a claim to the insurance company after the person is gone.  When you’re the victim of medical identity theft you may wind up with bills for medical services you didn’t receive or you may find that your insurance deductible and policy itself are both affected.

Some people are only allowed so many doctor’s and hospital visits under their medical care, so when the insurance company thinks you’ve used these up you may be denied coverage when you try to visit the doctor for real.  Trying to straighten out cases of medical identity theft with your insurance company can be very difficult as they have been slower to respond to the threat of identity theft than banks and credit unions.  Simply telling your insurance carrier that you didn’t see a doctor or visit a hospital on a certain day may not be enough.  This means coordinating information with doctors, hospitals, admissions clerks, and so on.

Some who commit medical identity theft also do so because they are trying to get narcotics or other treatments they shouldn’t be getting.  Many drug users commit medical identity theft so that they can’t be traced from hospital to hospital or from doctor to doctor, getting painkillers or other such medications at each one.

They may use these things themselves or they may turn around and illegally sell them on the street.  This means that medical identity theft is often tied into drug trafficking and abuse, so it’s not something to be ignored.

It’s also not unusual for these one to be in a country illegally, to have a warrant out for their arrest, or for some other reason not be able to give their real name and identification.  Rarely does anyone commit medical identity theft simply because they can’t afford medications or treatment; there are government programs available for those who are in this situation.

This crime is something that needs to be taken seriously and shouldn’t be ignored or dismissed as being victimless.  It is something that affects not only the real patient but their insurance company and which encourages other, very serious crimes as well.

Avoid Business Identity Theft

Most individuals know of the risk of identity theft, but it’s important for anyone that owns a company or that works in the accounting or human resources department to be aware of the threat of business identity theft.

This crime has happened to even some of the largest companies today and can happen to you and your company as well, if you’re not careful.  Many of the steps that individuals take to protect themselves are very similar or the same as one can take to avoid business identity theft.  Let’s talk about some of these things here.

For one thing, “dumpster divers” or those who root around in the trash or in landfills for paperwork and anything else that might have sensitive information pose a threat of business identity theft.  They know to check for dumpsters in the parking lot of buildings for not only paperwork but old computers, CDs, floppy disks, and anything else that might have information they can scour for business account information and so on.

The practice of shredding paperwork before it gets thrown away actually started with business identity theft, as it was found out that people were not above picking through trash of businesses, hospitals, doctor’s offices, and so on.  Retail stores also needed to protect themselves and began tearing up papers before they got tossed.

Accountants often do the business financials online, and checking information on a regular basis this way is another tool to avoid business identity theft.  Individuals are encouraged to check their bank account and credit card balances online as often as possible, and this should be done for businesses as well.

It may be more difficult for larger companies, but staying on top of charges, transactions, and everything else is important to avoid business identity theft.  It’s also imperative for a business owner to do this himself or herself.  You may hire an accountant or someone else you think you can trust but sometimes bad things happen right under an owner’s nose and this include business identity theft by someone you thought you could trust.

It’s imperative that there be more than one person responsible for double-checking these accounts and at least one of those people should be the business owner.

Many companies are also purchasing insurance to protect them from the cost of recovering from business identity theft.  An insurance company can’t guarantee that this will never happen to a company but considering the time, effort, and cost of fixing such a problem this type of insurance policy may be a good idea.

It can often take hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars to fix any case of business identity theft, and a good insurance policy can reimburse a business owner from these costs and lost time as well.  Usually insurance carriers that provide other types of policies for a business can also provide insurance for business identity theft, and you may also get a discount if you have several policies with one company.

Avoiding Internet Identity Theft

Ever received a request to log in to your internet bank to confirm or change some details even though you weren’t a member of that bank? That’s someone attempting an internet identity theft – Yours! The only reason they didn’t get your identity was because you dismissed the e-mail as an error as you didn’t bank with them. But what if you did? What if the email came and it looked identical to the ones you get from your bank?

This is how internet identity theft occurs. The criminals, often organized crime syndicates, send out millions of emails knowing that if only 10% are received by customers of the bank they are pretending to be and only 1% of those click on the link and fill out the form, they’ve had a very good day at the office of internet identity theft!

So you get an email from someone saying that they are a banking official or are acting on behalf of some political figure and want to squirrel money out of the country with your help, you should be aware that this is almost certainly a ploy to commit internet identity theft but you’d be surprised how many people actually fall for this type of scam.  The person emailing you usually says that they need your bank account information or your social security information in order to wire you the funds.

Once they get this information they have everything they need to steal your identity.  The most famous of this type of internet identity theft solicitation is the Nigerian banking scam, but it has many different forms that are very similar.  Some will say they are soliciting for a charity or that they have a medical condition and need to take care of this type of business immediately.  The common element is that they all ask for personal information about you, your bank account number, your social security number, or some other type of information that should be kept private and confidential.

Other types of emails that lead to internet identity theft are what’s known as phishing, where you receive an email that looks as if it’s from a legitimate site such as eBay or PayPal.  The email says that you are going to be charged for a recent purchase or that you need to update your personal information with them.

They provide a link right there in the email that supposedly goes back to their site so you can correct this situation, but following that link usually results in internet identity theft because it doesn’t actually go back to that site.  As a matter of fact, the email isn’t really from them in the first place.  But if you follow that link and enter your information they record all the numbers and other things you type so they can use it for internet identity theft.

Don’t let this put you off using the internet for surfing and even shopping. It’s important to realize that shopping internet is actually safer than using your plastic on the high street. This is because the human element is not present on the internet. Everything is done automated so no person sees your details and gets tempted to make a copy.

All you have to do is be careful when on the internet. Remember that if someone emails you and asks for personal details just delete and forget. If you are shopping internet look for the little padlock that appears bottom of the screen. This means you are on a secure server and no person can see your card details, etc. when you fill in the internet forms and hit send. Internet identity theft is a serious risk but only for the unaware.

Stop Identity Theft With These Tips

Learning how to stop identity theft is on the minds of many people today since it is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, and can still be one of the most difficult to correct. As with other crimes you may be a victim of, it’s often better to do what you can to actually stop identity theft rather than assuming you can quickly and easily fix the problem after it’s happened.

There are of course many things you can do to stop identity theft in your own case. You may have heard of the importance of shredding all your mail and bills and other paperwork before you throw anything away. You may have been told to leave your social security card, checkbook, and unnecessary credit cards at home when you go out.

You might know something about how to stop identity theft online, such as not using a credit card to pay for things but instead establishing a PayPal account so that all your information is stored with one company rather than shared with anyone and everyone.

But what is the best way to stop identity theft? What is the one important thing you can be doing to keep this crime from happening to you?

In truth, all of these things are important for anyone that wants to stop identity theft, but really the best thing you can do is to understand how this crime happens and what identity thieves do to get your information in the first place. When you learn how to think like they do then you can better realize what you need to do to keep your information and your identity private and safe.

For instance, when you realize that some people go “dumpster diving” or sift through trash and even landfills to look for paperwork that has other sensitive information so that they can steal your identity, you realize why you need to shred your things before you throw them out - better yet, sign up for online billing for all your utilities, car payment, mortgage, and so on, and tell your bank to stop sending you paper statements in the mail.

When you use the internet for these things you can stop identity theft by those who will stoop so low so as to rifle through your trash for information.

You can also stop identity theft from those who would steal your purse or wallet when you’re out by not having all those important numbers and cards with you at all times. You probably have no reason to carry your social security card everywhere you go, so why take it with you?

When you learn the different methods that thieves use to steal your information you are in a better position to stop identity theft altogether. There’s no guarantee that it will never happen to you no matter what you do, but by making yourself a more difficult target than the next guy you can stop identity theft in the first place.

Prevent Identity Theft With These Few Steps

It’s unfortunate that the majority of identity theft cases are committed by those that the victim actually knows, such as a so-called friend, relative, coworker, or neighbor. While it is easier to get this problem taken care of then it ever was before, it’s still better to try to prevent identity theft before it happens rather than assuming you can just fix the problem after the fact.

If your biggest threat is someone you know, then what can you do to prevent identity theft in the first place? There are some things you can think about above and beyond shredding your personal paperwork before you throw it away.

For one thing, it may seem terrible to say that you need to learn some mistrust, but using discretion is a good idea. If you have a distant relative that’s going to be staying with you, put away your important papers, your checkbook, and anything like this. You can prevent identity theft or the threat of it if you protect your information from strangers in this way.

When you have a real estate open house or even just some friends over for dinner, put everything away. At work, don’t take your social security card, all your credit cards, and your checkbook as well. You probably don’t need them every day at the office, and you can prevent identity theft if you leave those papers at home.

If you work in a large office building with many different companies remember that sometimes strangers will just walk into such a building looking for open offices where they can easily get to purses, wallets, and so on. Implement an office policy where the door to your suite stays locked. Remind everyone to lock their desk drawers and keep an eye on their wallets when working.

If the company has lockers because workers need to change clothes, remind your workers that they can prevent identity theft by making sure their lock is secure even if they’re just taking a break or eating lunch nearby. Do the same for yourself; lock up your desk drawer and make sure your wallet is nearby at all times.

Checking your credit report is not going to prevent identity theft but it can help you to prevent the problem before it gets out of hand. By checking on changes in your credit report that shouldn’t be there you can prevent the process before it gets too far out of hand. Be sure to work with your bank and credit card account holder if you need to; they can help you take steps to prevent identity theft.

You can’t always guarantee that you’re going to be able to prevent identity theft but it’s interesting how often people don’t think about locking up their desks at work and about putting their paperwork away when people are in the house. By using discretion at home and at work you may be able to prevent identity theft before it happens.