Protecting Your Identity

Always secure birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, in a safe deposit box or in a safe hidden at home, and cards when not in use.  These documents can worth to thousands of dollars to a thief.

Never list your full birth date on Facebook or any other social-networking Web sites. Why is this important?

This information can open doors for a thief so never list your home address or telephone number on any Web site you use for personal or business reasons, including job-search sites.

Be careful with snail mail.  Why is that important?

Follow your billing cycles closely. If a credit card or other bill hasn’t arrived, it may mean that an identity thief has gotten hold of your account and changed your billing address.

It is suggested when you order new checks, you pick them up at the bank instead of shipping them to your home.

And never place outgoing mail in your post office box or door slot for a carrier to pick up. Anyone can grab it and get your credit card numbers and other financial information. Bring it to the post office yourself.

Now you say to review all bank and credit card statements each month, preferably once a week.  What are you looking for?

Watch for charges for less than a dollar or two from unfamiliar companies or individuals. Thieves who are planning to purchase a block of stolen credit card numbers often first test to check that the accounts haven’t been canceled by aware customers by sending a small charge through, sometimes for only a few pennies. If the first charge succeeds, they’ll buy the stolen data and make a much larger charge or purchase. In addition, many of the fraud alerts you can set on your accounts aren’t triggered by small dollar amounts.

Pay attention at the checkout line.  How do thieves use this to steal?

Be aware that if a cashier or salesperson takes your card and either turns away from you or takes too long to conduct what is usually a normal transaction, she may be scanning your card into a handheld skimming terminal to harvest the information.  Always check to see that it your card returned to you.

A thief in the checkout line can take a picture of the front and back of your card with a cell phone. Be observance of your surroundings and the people around you.

Go paperless in as many ways as possible.      How does this help?

Cut back on the mail from banks and financial institutions by discontinuing paper bills and statements.  If you do receive paper receipts, put the statements through the shredder instead of into the wastebasket.

Identity theft insurance can pay off, but you need to read the fine print.

Several companies offer identity theft insurance, which covers the money you shell out to repair your identity. This includes whatever you spend on phone calls, making copies of documents and mailing them, hiring an attorney, and in some cases, lost wages. However, the insurance—which costs about $50 a year—does not reimburse you for funds you lost. Your current homeowner policy may include identity theft insurance in your package, so check first before signing up with an outside company. Also, some companies are starting to offer identity theft insurance as an employee benefit.