Reducing Your Chances of Identity Theft
There are several things you can do to reduce the possibility of having your identity stolen.
• Buy a paper shredder. A paper shredder costs less then twenty dollars at an office supply store. Use it to shred any piece of information that has your social security number or financial information on it.
• Ask businesses and professionals to shred your old information. Ask businesses about their shredding policies and ask how they get rid of old documents. Request that they erase, shred or modify the information on your file once you are done business with them. In some states doing this is law. For instance in Georgia and California state laws don’t allow businesses to discard records with personal information unless the records are first shredded or erased to make the data unreadable. Wisconsin has a similar law that applies to financial institutions, tax prepares and companies with medical information. You should also ask your accountant, doctor or any other professional to shred old documents.
• Get a locking mailbox. Through the mail you are sent bank statements, credit cards, credit card offers, convenience checks and health insurance numbers with your Social Security numbers on them. Your mailbox is a goldmine for identity thieves.
• Keep track of your receipts. All a thief needs to do is rifle through your trash and find a credit card receipt with your full account number printed on it. This is information that can be sold to identity thieves. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the federal FACTA legislation will require to truncate credit card numbers on receipts by 2007. This will help curb the theft of account numbers from receipts.
• Lock up your financial documents. Keep important documents in a locked file, desk or box. It is very easy for a guest or a repairman to walk off with your checkbook or other important documentation.
• Don’t give out your social security number unless you absolutely have to. This nine-digit number was never intended to be a form of all-purpose identification but that is what it has become. Consequently more and more people are demanding it. Don’t give out your social security number except in situations that require it such as to certain financial institutions, government agencies and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
• Keep track of your debit card. If your ATM card has a VISA or MasterCard log on it is defined as a debit check card and can be used just like a credit card without punching in a personal identification number. A thief who swipes it or skims the information off the magnetic stripe can quickly empty your bank account.
• Only use your credit card in monitored situations. The good news is that banks don’t hold you responsible for fraud committed with a debit card with a Visa or MasterCard logo but you can still wind up without money for a few days before the bank restores the stolen cash. That is why it is better to use a credit card or cash anywhere you won’t be able to monitor the actual transaction such as in the case where you give the card to a waiter who might be a professional theft. Also, as should go without saying, you shouldn’t give your credit or debit cards to anyone else to use.
• Be wary of emails claiming to be from Financial Institutions. Of course the main problem here is that you are asked for your credit card number, social security number or other sensitive information. This is called phishing. Usually during a phishing incident the email directs you to a look-alike web site and asks you to input your account numbers. Don’t fall for this. Usually if a financial institution contacts you, call them using the toll-free number on your statement.
• Monitor your social security statements. Each year, a few months before you birthday you should receive a statement from the Social Security Administrations summarizing your earnings during your working years plus an estimate of the benefits you and your family can expect. These statements are sent automatically to workers and former workers who are 25 years and older. If you meet these criteria and aren’t getting statements you should call the SSA immediately at 1-800-772-1213 to make sure your contact information is correct. If you see earnings on this statement that don’t make sense to you then that could be evidence of fraud. However also keep in mind that if your previous year’s earnings seem low it is often just the SSA being late when it comes to keeping up with its records. However it doesn’t hurt for you to check this out by giving them a call.
• Monitor your credit reports. Many identity theft experts recommend that you monitor your credit reports at least twice a year. You can also consider hiring accredit monitoring service that promises to watch over your credit report and alert you if anything suspicious occurs.