Identity Theft Articles
How to Protect Your Identity
By Jim Travers
©Jim Travers - All Rights Reserved
http://www.MyIDTheftHelp.com
Insurance is not enough to protect your identity from scam artists and fraud groups;
it should also be used only as a last resort as filing insurance claims may sometimes be just as difficult as
recovering the money you lost in cases of identity fraud.
Here are several easy-to-do ways to protect your identity as much as
possible:
KEEP YOUR PIN CODES SECRET
Fictional movies and books alone can
tell you how dangerous it is to let other people be privy to your passwords or making a list of your PIN codes and
not bothering to conceal them effectively. PIN codes are the only keys con artists need to gain access to
information about you – information that you would never want strangers to get a hand of and could cause you to
lose huge amounts of money.
USE SENSIBLE AND DIFFERENT PASSWORDS
Remember that hackers and
con artists spend a good portion of their lives simply studying human behavior in order to learn what factors they
use to base their choice of passwords on.
Be unpredictable about your choice of passwords. That way, not even the person
closest to you will have any means of guessing your PIN code. Make sure of course that the passwords you
choose are words that you can actually remember without any trouble.
DON’T CARRY YOUR WHOLE HOME WITH YOU
If you’re simply heading to
the local grocery to restock your kitchen, why do you have to bring your Social Security Card and passport with
you? The less important documents and cards you carry with you on an everyday basis, the better.
REGISTER WITH A CARD REPLACEMENT SERVICE
Doing so will enable you to replace your card and save your finances from being spent by strangers with just one
call!
GET A HOME SAFE
The less conspicuous-looking the better! You’ve
seen how rich guys in the silver screen often hide their home safes behind photo frames or swinging book shelves.
You should consider adopting similar security methods as well. Alter your room a bit in order to conceal the
location of your safe. Again, choose a sensible password for your safe, one that no one can possibly guess at,
especially strangers!
INSTALL A SECURITY ALARM
Although some security alarm systems
are expensive, they are however very reliable. Some alarm systems, in fact, may be directly connected to your local
police station. Just one slip up and your thief will be on his way to jail.
ENCRYPT YOUR DATA
If you know next to nothing about encrypting data, ask a trusted friend to teach you the basics or search for
articles online that provide simple instructions on how to keep your data safe from prying eyes.
DESTROY YOUR OLD HARD DISKS
Your aging hard disks may contain personal information about you. Instead of simply throwing, selling or giving
them away, destroy them instead. That way, strangers who are searching for important documents from your trash will
find nothing but pieces of metal and plastic left to salvage from your old data.
HANDLING SCAM EMAILS
If you truly believe that the messages in your inbox are scam mail, don’t bother opening them. Delete them
immediately and file a complaint to the proper authorities. These emails may contain viruses and spyware bots that
are designed to gain illegal access to any information that can be found from your computer.
ASK FOR REGULAR COPIES OF YOUR CREDIT RECORD
It’s possible that you’re already a victim of identity theft without knowing it. The best way to verify this is by
asking copies of your credit reports from the three major bureaus at least once a year. Read and review each item
and see if you find someone that you don’t believe is incorrect or inaccurate. It may simply be caused by
unintentional human error in the credit bureau’s part – or something worse.
SHREDDING DOCUMENTS AND CHECKING YOUR TRASH
Shred or better yet burn any documents that you don’t need but contain information about your personal records or
bank accounts. Do not let any stranger get a hold of your trash! Con artists sometimes misrepresent themselves as
garbage collectors to gain access to your trash and papers that may be important.
LASTLY, BE WARY OF ANYTHING THAT’S UNSOLICITED
Postal letters, emails, fax and phone calls that are unsolicited are not to be trusted! If they want to talk to
you, ask them for proof of their identities and their businesses. Remember, trust should be earned and never freely
given.
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Worried about Identity Theft or Online Fraud?
A complete information pack, together with self help action plans to
stop ID thieves in their tracks can be found in the 'MY ID Theft Help' book package published by My Help Books.
Visit => http://www.MyIDTheftHelp.com
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