Prevent Identity Fraud with Enhanced Services

As incidences of identity theft continues to rise at alarming rates, it is becoming more and more important to safeguard yourself and your personal information against this damaging crime. There are many ways you can help to protect your personal information to help prevent identity theft. However, since identity thieves are constantly developing new methods to commit fraud, it's essential to use credit monitoring and fraud alert services to better protect yourself and your financial future.

How Does Identity Theft Happen

Identity theft can happen almost anywhere and at any time. During the past year, there were over 2 million complaints regarding fraud and identity theft. This number grows every year, and identity theft remains one of the top concerns among consumers. Unfortunately, there are still many people who think identity theft can't happen to them, so they don't take the proper precautions to protect themselves against this potentially crippling crime. Identity thieves are always on the prowl and always looking for new methods to commit these crimes. They have infiltrated both paper and electronic data in order to steal identities and ruin credit scores.

Here are just a few of the ways that an identity thief can get the information he needs to steal your identity:

• Stealing a wallet that contains credit cards or other personal information
• Obtaining documents with personal information and account numbers from the trash
• Taking mail that contains personal information and account numbers
• Setting up fraudulent change of mail requests to divert your mail
• Stealing workplace records that include personal information
• Hacking or intercepting personal information submitted electronically
• Scamming internet users into sending personal information directly to them

Any personal information, including your social security number, bank account information, credit card numbers, or other data, can lead to an identity being stolen and a credit thief profiting at your expense. Protecting your personal data is one big step in preventing identity fraud.

Credit Monitoring to Prevent Identity Theft

Whether you have been the victim of identity theft in the past or not, you need to get regular credit monitoring. By checking your credit report frequently, you can immediately spot any fraudulent activity in your name. If you spot anything that looks suspicious, you should immediately report the problems. Any delay could mean more damage to your credit score and to your future.

You can request your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus, but this often is not enough to prevent identity fraud. By checking your credit several times per year, you can enhance your protection against this devastating crime. Identity theft takes only a few seconds to happen. Looking for it only once a year is not enough.

Fraud Alert and Enhanced Protection

For most consumers, even regular credit monitoring may not be enough to keep them safe against credit fraud. Although credit reports are incredibly helpful in monitoring account activity, it is often a wise idea to get enhanced identity fraud protection. Many institutions allow you to get fraud alert placed on your accounts. For many of these services, you will be instantly notified of any suspicious activity on your account. Additionally, you will want to protect yourself from unauthorized accounts. When shopping for enhanced identity protection or fraud alert, it's essential to ensure the service will constantly monitor your identity and provide instant notification in the event of a problem. A good enhanced identity protection should also offer resolution and assistance. Some services offer up to 1 million dollars in coverage for any identity fraud that occurs in your name. When an identity is stolen, the monetary damage can add up fast before it is caught. In addition to this coverage and support, you also should find a service that offers protection of all your valuable information.

With as quickly and damaging as identity theft can be, it doesn't make sense to wait to discover it. Making sure you keep your personal information as safe as possible is just one way to keep identity thieves out of your life. By checking your credit frequently and getting an enhanced service to monitor your information, you can keep your identity as secure as possible.

Amy Johnson is an active blogger who is fond of writing articles on credit monitoring and advising people to monitor your ID to keep an eye on wrong data entered in your report. Follow her on Twitter to know more on how to prevent identity fraud with enhanced services.