How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Here are some handy tips on how to protect yourself from identity theft from USA Today:

• Monitor bank and credit card accounts regularly by phone, ATM or over the Internet.

• Reduce the amount of paper in your life. Mailboxes containing credit card bills and other sensitive financial information are prime targets for thieves. Shredding sensitive documents is a good idea, but "it's not enough just to shred," Van Dyke says. "Most criminals go to your mailbox, not your trash." His advice: Arrange for electronic delivery of bank statements and bills.

• Lighten your wallet. Nearly 40% of identity theft stems from lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks or credit cards, according to Javelin's survey of victims who know how their information was stolen. Rid your billfold of credit cards you don't use, along with other documents, such as your Social Security card, that you don't need on a regular basis.

• Secure online accounts with difficult-to-guess personal identification numbers and passwords. Keep PINs and passwords in a safe place and change them often. Update your anti-virus programs and firewalls frequently.

• Take advantage of your right to obtain free credit reports.

Here's how we handle each of these:

1. I do monitor our bank account via the web, but not our credit cards. On the cards, I reconcile them through Quicken every month to make sure what we think we have spent matches what the credit card company says we've spent.

2. We shred like fiends, only put mail in our box the day of delivery (never overnight), and we pick up our mail with an hour or two of delivery. We have a fairly active street, so it's not like someone could easily take mail without anyone noticing. That said, we may need to be a bit more aggressive in this area.

3. I carry two credit cards, my driver's license, my Costco card, and some cash. That's it.

4. What? You mean a pin of "1234" isn't good enough? ;-)

5. I get one free credit report a year. I should do at least two.

Comments

[limeade]

While identity theft is a big issue these days, it's not worth living a life of fear. Take some simple precautions and go from there.

It's good to be reminded about it though.

-limeade
http://fiscalmusings.blogspot.com

[Rick]

"4. What? You mean a pin of "1234" isn't good enough? ;-)"

Nah. Everyone knows you're supposed to use the last four digits of your SSN...

[jorx]

BTW, the Federal Trade commision reported that over %90 of the reported identity theft could not have been prevented. I don't know if you're talking about just credit related, or also other kinds of ID theft like criminal, drivers license, medical, and your social security.

[Amy]

The USA article refers to a tool called "credit freeze." It's also known as a "security freeze."

Consider placing a security freeze on your consumer credit reporting files to make it hard for thieves and scammers to use your information to open new accounts, like new credit cards in your name.

A security freeze is a powerful identity theft prevention tool for individuals. It enables consumers to take a step that will stop the opening of false new accounts which require a credit check unless the consumer has expressly authorized a potential creditor to check the consumer’s credit report or credit score. Without a credit report or credit score a business usually will not open a new account. As of today, 34 states and the District of Columbia have enacted security freeze laws. Check Consumer Union’s list to see if your state is one of them and on how to place a security freeze.
http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/financialprivacynow/2006/09/freeze_identity_thieves_out_of_1.html

Check out also Consumers Union’s "Identity Theft: Tips for Consumers" for a list of additional actions to reduce your chances of becoming a future victim of ID theft.
http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/financialprivacynow/2006/11/identity_theft_tips_for_consum.html

Amy
www.financialprivacynow.org
A Project of Consumers Union