Identity Theft Information dot Org

Identity theft is a scary, hot issue worldwide. Since the crime isn’t easy to detect, nor is the thief easy to catch, identity theft is one of the favorite past times of fraudsters today.

Anyone can become a victim, at any point in their life. Mistakenly, people figure if they’ve been a victim once, it can’t happen again. This is not a virus you don’t develop resistance to it just because it happened before!

How Can You Avoid Identity Theft?

There are many identity theft prevention tips that people can use to remain safe to a large extent. Out of these, the following are some of the most critical identity theft prevention tips you can use.

Admittedly there isn’t much here you haven’t seen, or won’t see, on similar sites.

But let’s face it, how many ways can you say these.

1. Never, never, never (did I say never?) simply throw a personal letter in the garbage without first destroying. You just don’t do it. Use a cross cut shredder (turns the paper into confetti, much more difficult to reassemble).

Or tear the letter into extremely tiny pieces before disposing. The best would be to either shred them or burn them. I really don’t recommend the latter, shredding is much safer.

2. For safetys’ sake, for online purchases, never enter your credit card details unless you see the lock icon on the lower right side of the screen or in the address bar of your browser, and it is mentioned that it uses SSS technology (you’ll know this when you see ‘https://’ instead of he usual ‘http://’ in the URL. Unless you check for this, you may as well hand over your credit card to anyone on the street to use.

3. In case you will be away on business or a vacation, notify and request the post office to hold your mail till you can retrieve it yourself. Do not allow the letters to pile up in your box, if you use one. This is the most common way for people to have their identities hijacked.

This author has first hand experience having important mail taken from an unsecure box.

4. Remember, destroy all receipts when you are in an ATM. Better yet, take them with you. Also, when you use these machines, use extra care to block the keypad (when you key in your PIN) from prying eyes.

This is one of the most important identity theft prevention tips since most of the information is gathered from the discarded transaction slips or receipts that are carelessly thrown in the dustbin of the ATM.

Or so I’ve heard. Frankly I don’t see how any of the information on an ATM slip is usable as identity theft data. But for completeness I share it here.

And besides, these people are right clever.

Moving on…

5. Have your credit reports checked periodically, every three to six months, so you can catch any suspicious transaction before it escalates into a major crime.

These identity theft prevention tips are quite essential to your security, but are not exclusive. Actually the best possible identity theft prevention tip is to be alert and well informed about your financial status at all times.

Bonus Tip!

Guard your Social Security Number with your Life

There, I said it.

Now, Of course there are places such as hospitals and the Department of Motor Vehicles where your social security number is required.

However, if you’re asked for it at someplace like the gym or the bookstore, in order to prevent identity theft – ask why. At times, it’s just an assumed part of filling any form, but if not legally necessary, avoid sharing this information.

Though policies differ company to company, some cell phone providers and libraries can make do with other forms of documentation if you don’t want to reveal your SSN.

Some websites ask you to enter your SSN as a security question. Most of the time, you can choose another option like your mothers maiden name or the city in which you were born.

These are much safer alternatives for protection from identity theft.