How to Avoid Identity Theft

Posted: Mar 25, 2011 |Comments: 0 |

People are stealing identities at an alarming rate these days. As a small business consulting coach, I've seen more than one small business owner almost destroyed by identity theft. There are thousands of reports daily of people who hare being sued for bills that they have no knowledge of. an identity thief can ruin your credit, create thousands of dollars in bills for you and even get you in trouble with the IRS.

If you are like most you are living with this fear knowing it could happen to you at any time. Read on to find a few tips that will cut the risk of you having your identity being stolen by half.

1. Go online to FTC's Identity Theft Awareness website. It outlines in depth steps you can take to avoid identity theft and also what you can do if it has happened to you.

2. One of the most effective means of thwarting an identity thief is to not give them anything to work with. in this age of the Internet seemingly every site you go to wants you to input your information.

Most of these sites are just capture sites. This means they are there to get your information. They will then sell it to the highest bidder. Make certain that any site you choose to use your credit card information on is secured and a legitimate business.

3. Never throw financial data out in the trash, not even those prepaid cards that are sent to you, these could give a thief enough information about you to get credit in your name. Leave your social security card at home and shred, cut up or other wise destroy old records. Make certain there is no way anyone can retrieve what is in the records.

4. Knowing how to detect instances of identity theft can help you to head the thief off at the pass. The faster you are at detecting this sort of thing the quicker you can take measures to prevent major damage.

Finally here are a few tips to help you to detect identity theft. You could hire a professional service. Check you credit report for inaccuracies. Review your financial statements each month. You are entitled to a free credit report each year take advantage of the freebie it could save you money in the end.

When you find discrepancies handle them right away. File a report with the police and the FTC. Alert your creditors and get all new cards and PIN numbers. Alert the credit bureaus and ask them to place a freeze on who can view your credit report. This stops any new credit from being issued.

Just be aware at all times what you're doing online. If you pay your bills online, change your passwords. If you buy tangible items on Amazon, check your computer for viruses. If you buy web hosting for your website, do it from a reputable company (not an overnight sensation). Just be aware that criminals are always looking for an easy fix. Make sure its not you.

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    Charles Calvert

    Protection for identity theft is an absolute must today. Identity thieves take advantage of your information to get cell phones, credits cards, purchase items online,and in extreme cases use your social security number to gain employment

    By: Charles Calvertl Home and Familyl Feb 23, 2012

    Most people think they're avoiding identity theft simply by being careful who handles their documents, shredding receipts and old credit cards, never giving out their full Social Security number, etc. But it's not just someone rooting through your trash or stealing your wallet that you need to worry about anymore. Essentially, you need to worry about someone rooting through your Internet.

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    It is not a brand new concept, however, not everyone has continuously been allowed to freeze your credit. Within the past, only victims of ID theft have been allowed to freeze their credit to prevent identity theft. However recently all of the foremost credit bureaus adopted new rules permitting additional non-victims to freeze their credit, and defend themselves from identity theft.

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    Identity theft has now become a serious crime affecting more than ten million people in the US. Identity theft refers to a fraudulent activity that involves the usage of identity of one person by another person for illegal purposes. In fact, the consequences of identity theft is quite distressing, as criminals mostly use your identity for such purposes as opening new bank accounts, acquiring new credit cards, and loans, but eventually leaving all credit in your name.

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