Identity Theft What You Can Do To Prevent It. Identity theft continues to be a major problem, so we need to always be on the lookout for it, and know what steps to take to prevent it.
Some of the more common ways that Identity Theft happens is:
- Dumpster Diving - Thieves rummage through dumpsters for personal.
- Skimming - The thief steals your credit card numbers with special electronic devices
- Phishing - Thieves pretend to be company or government agency to see if they can get you to give them your personal information on the phone or by e-mail.
- Hacking - Thieves hack into your computer, or e-mail and steel your personal information and/or passwords.
- Just Plain Stealing - The old fashion way by stealing your wallet or mail.
So What Can You So To Prevent Indenting Theft:
- Shred all you documents instead of throwing them in the trash.
- Don't carry your social security card on you.
- Don't give your personal information over the phone, mail, or Internet unless you are absolutely sure of who you are giving it to.
- Never click on a link or open an e-mail unless you are sure who they are from, or what the link links to.
- Don't use obvious passwords.
- Keep all your personal information in a safe place.
- Check your credit report regularly for suspicious activity.
- Be on the alert for other suspicious activity such as:
- Bills that don't show up on time.
- Your credit all the sudden is being denied.
- Bills for purchases that you did not make.
When you suspect that your Identity might have been stolen:
- Report it to the police immediately.
- Call the security department for each account you have, and tell them that you suspect fraudulent activity on your accounts.
- Contact the three major Credit Bureaus:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
and place a Fraud Alert on your Credit Report.
These are just a few of the steps that you can take to identify, and prevent Identity Theft. But I am sure that you have already thought of other things you can do to prevent Identity Theft while reading this blog.
*************************************************************************************
Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments(26)