Identity Theft

Tips For Avoiding Identity Theft

Identity theft can happen to anyone - however, you can make it difficult or easy for identity theft to happen to you and it is up to you to do the right things to protect your identity and keep it safe from fraudsters. Many people think that identity theft only happens to those who are very careless or those who use the Internet without firewalls on their computers, but statistics show that in fact the Internet is only one of several ways that identity theft occurs.

First of all, cases of identity theft have been around a lot longer than the Internet, however it has gotten easier because of the Internet. Initially, however, thieves would steal your identity by digging through pieces of garbage that you throw away looking for personal information as well as credit card offers, loan offers, etc. that you chose to ignore.

Armed with your personal information, they would then sign up for offers that you received, providing a change of address and they would then be using your identity for illegal purposes.

Another scheme that thieves use to steal your identity is to take pictures of your id and credit cards when you take them out to use them in a store. It takes a smarter thief to create new credit cards, however, with your name, address and credit card number, they can go online and order products for themselves, completely without your knowledge.

Of course, the most common way for a thief to steal your identity is to hack your personal information online. They can create new identification, credit cards, get loans, etc. all from the comfort of their home. This activity is terrible and it will leave you in a bad place both personally and financially.

If you want to prevent identity theft you need to guard your information and prevent others from using it. You should always shred any papers before you put them in the garbage, prevent others from seeing your credit cards and talk to your credit card company about requiring ID anytime your card is used.

Of course you should get protection for your computer with keylogger and virus prevention software but you should also consider insurance to protect you from identity theft, check your credit report at least once a year and sign up for fraud alerts from your bank and from your credit card companies so that you are alerted when anything happens to your account.