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ConsumerFairplay.com
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| The best consumer is an informed consumer.
However, when it comes to identity theft, and keeping your information
private, there are some proactive steps you can take to reduce your
likelihood of becoming a victim, but, as Jonathan Kraft, identity theft
specialist in Colorado shares, there is nothing you can do to completely
eliminate your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft. We offer you options as
an informed consumer visiting our web site, in order to help you deal with
the Identity Theft epidemic currently affecting America:
A variety of ways to
reduce your risk of becoming a victim of Identity Theft
or
Identity Theft
Protection. We recommend the monitoring and restoration offered by
the Industry leader, KROLL Worldwide.
Find out more at
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/jkraft
Protecting yourself
from Identity Theft.
One tip: Don’t think it can’t happen to you.
(Thanks to
Bankrate.com for their help with some of this advice.)
1. Guard your Social Security number
The most important step is to guard your Social Security number -- it is
the key to your credit report and banking accounts and is the prime target
of identity theft. Do not print your Social Security number on your
checks. After applying for a loan, credit card, rental or anything else
that requires a credit report, request that your Social Security number on
the application be truncated or completely obliterated and your original
credit report be shredded before your eyes or returned to you once a
decision has been made.
2. Monitor your credit report
Credit reports can alert you to activity in your financial records. A
monitoring service will notify you whenever someone applies
for credit in your name or checks your credit history. You then can be
proactive; call the person and ask, "Why are you checking my credit?" It
might be a landlord or employer; it might be legitimate.
3. Buy a shredder and use it
Identity thieves may use your garbage to obtain personal information.
Shred all old bank and credit statements, as well as "junk mail"
credit-card offers, before trashing them. Use a crosscut shredder -- they
cost more than regular shredders but are superior.
4. Remove your name from marketing lists
The three credit-reporting bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion --
all maintain marketing lists that may contain your information. Contact
the agencies to remove your name from the lists. You also should add your
name to the name-deletion lists of the Direct Marketing Association's Mail
Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service used by banks and
other marketers. Removing your name from these lists reduces the number of
pre-approved credit offers you receive.
5. Watch what you carry in your wallet
Do not keep your Social Security card in your wallet or carry extra credit
cards or other important identity documents except when needed. These
documents can give thieves ready access to your accounts.
6. Keep duplicate records
Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Copy both sides
of your license and credit cards so you have all the account numbers,
expiration dates and phone numbers if your wallet or purse is stolen.
7. Mail payments from a safe location
Do not mail bill payments and checks from home. They can be stolen from
your mailbox and washed clean in chemicals. Take them to the post office.
While
you’re at it, sign up for a locked mailbox, because you can’t trust that
your mail will stay in your mailbox.
8. Monitor your Social Security activity
Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits statement once a year to
check for fraud.
9. Monitor your credit-card activity
Carefully examine your credit-card statements for fraudulent charges
before paying them. If you don't need or use department-store or
bank-issued credit cards, close the accounts. This might have
effects on your credit, so you'll want to
monitor your credit.
10. Know who you are talking to
Never give your credit-card number or personal information over the phone
unless you have initiated the call and trust that business.
11. Make sure that all
doctor, hospital and medical records that contain your information are
shredded. (Good luck.)
12. Try not to use
your social security number when possible. This could be difficult
since the major source of Identification for colleges, workout facilities,
Healthcare centers, doctor's offices, local, state, and national
government
13. Go through the
helpful but extensive steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission in
its 30-page consumer support publication.
14. Fill out and
submit the affidavit form supplied by the FTC to dispute new, unauthorized
accounts.
15.
Create passwords
containing numbers and letters. Of course, you can't do this at the
ATM, but at least do it online.
16.
Buy goods online only from a
reputable Web site. There's no real way to know if a web site is for
a reputable company or not, since the company is only as reputable as the
employees who work there.
17.
Install a computer firewall at
home. Hackers and Spyware are getting more creative all the time,
but this step can reduce your risk.
18.
Read the privacy statements for
all your accounts and your bank’s liability clauses. They're often
quite long, but knowing what's in them can help you see how your
information is being used.
19.
Use only one credit card for
purchases. The average American household has seven credit cards, so
this may be difficult for some people, but if you can do this, it can help
you avoid identity theft, or track it down more easily when it happens.
20.
Update your computer virus
protection daily. It only takes about 30 seconds to one minute every
day.
21. Make sure that
family members who live with you know not to throw out personal
information before it is shredded.
...
...
...
This list could end up being
200 ways long, in order to really help you reduce the risk of losing your
personal information to identity theft.
Instead, we really believe
that it's simply wiser for you to monitor your credit and have identity
theft protection in your back pocket, should you ever need it.
As a
result, we really do recommend that you look into
Identity Theft Protection.
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