Identity Theft

Identity theft has been called America’s fastest-growing crime problem by the FBI. 

If you don’t really know what identity theft is all about, it’s what happens when a thief “becomes” you by stealing your financial identity and using it to benefit themselves.  Less-sophisticated crooks will use your credit cards to go on a buying spree – more sophisticated ones will use your personal info to get a fake driver’s license, take out car loans, open bank accounts or even use your identity when they get arrested.

Here are a few ways to protect yourself from this increasingly-frequent predicament:

This is the most critical piece of personal information that can be misused.  Don’t print it on any ID, don’t carry it on you or in your wallet and avoid using it as a personal identifier if at all possible. 

Make your mailbox a less attractive target for identity thieves.  Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers and insurance by calling 888-5OPT-OUT or by logging onto https://www.optoutprescreen.com. Cancel mail delivery when you go on vacation. If you write a check for credit card payments and send them in, only use the last 4 digits of your account number.  

Things you throw out, such as credit card bills/offers, bank statements, etc., all contain valuable personal information.   Buying a shredder and using it on these kinds of documents can be a good investment.

We’ll be back next week with some more important tips on how to protect your identity.