Padlock Your Identity with These Tips

Identity theft is basically where someone unlawfully uses the personal information of another person. Your name, number, credit cards, address, social security number and bank accounts can be used by criminals. The worse part of identity theft is that you are still responsible for cleaning up the mess these criminals make using your personal information. This is why it is important that you take specific steps to padlock your identity.

The Scoop on Identity Theft

The Javelin Research report in 2013 states, every three seconds there is an incident of identity theft. This report also showed that over the period of one year, the incidents increased by 1 million consumers and over $21 billion was stolen.

These days with the rise in social network users, sites like LinkedIn and Facebook make it far easier for identity theft to happen since people are adding their personal information online at unprecedented levels which makes it too easy for criminals to get this information. Another Javelin report in 2011 found that users of social network sites were almost twice as likely to become victims of identity theft. This is why it is important to find ways to stop identity theft.

Preventative Steps to Secure Your Identity

Review your checking and other monthly account statements regularly. The sooner you catch a mistake, the simpler it is to fix it. You should review your credit card invoices every month as well, particularly if you use your cards a lot, and to check on stolen credit card issues.

Review your credit history. There are credit monitoring services that you can obtain your credit history from, which will help you to monitor your credit and stay on top of it. Ensure your credit reports are correct and keep an eye on your credit reports through these services which will alert you of any suspicious activity.

Create PIN numbers and passwords that use random numbers, special characters and letters. This makes it more difficult for criminals to uncover these codes and steal your identity.

Take care of your financial documents. You do have to keep certain statements for tax purposes. However, you should shred all other documents that hold your personal information on them, especially documents that hold your identifying information like account numbers and your social security number. In addition, any type of financial information even if it is a solicitation like credit card offers should be shred.

Put some type of lock on your mailbox. Your mailbox is the perfect target for identity thieves. They know it holds personal information like statements, bills and other financial documentation.

Get your mail from your box as soon as possible. Even if you have a lock on your mailbox, identity thieves might still attempt to tamper with it when you are not home.

Do not access your personal information on a public Wi-Fi computer. Although doing your online banking at a public place like a Cafe is convenient, it is not safe. Never enter your password or other personal information in an unsecured Wi-Fi network; even if it is in your home. Identity thieves have the skills to intercept this type of information over an unsecured connection.

Avoid clicking on phishing emails which are used to spread viruses and get users to click on links to allow the collection of their personal data. Thieves can now make these types of emails more persuasive due to how easy it is to get your personal information online. Some thieves make it look and sound like your own financial institution is requesting that you update your account information. Most, if not all credible institutions would never have you update your personal information through an email.

Look into Credit Monitoring

You might want to consider hiring a credit monitoring service to protect your identity. These types of services will monitor your credit for you and alert you of activity that seems out of place. Not everyone has the time to constantly monitor their own credit or do not know how, which makes this type of service even more appealing. Credit monitoring services help you stay on top of your credit and stay informed of any potential threats like unverified transactions. Through these services, you can obtain a copy of your credit history as well as other data that is relevant.

By following these six simple steps, you can feel more safe and confident that your identity is protected. Even though there is never a guarantee that your identity can never be compromised, these measures will help reduce the chances of identity theft significantly.

Amy Johnson is an active blogger who is fond of writing articles on Credit Protection and advising people to immediate steps by informing authorities if your card is lost or stolen. Follow her on Twitter to know more on tips to padlock your identity.