Quick Facts About ID-Theft (For Consumers)
ID theft is a big news item that is too often ignored by the typical consumer. Until it happens to them.
Less and less business is being transacted 'face to face'. Your 'electronic persona' is all that is needed to buy and sell these days. Once it has been duplicated by an identity thief, your on line double can rack up lots of debt and create credit problems that may take months or even years to clean up.
How to safeguard your on line credit:
- Shop at reputable sites.
The Internet is less like the modern mall and more like the ancient bazaar, where you had to watch your back at every turn. While even the most prestigious sites can be hacked, they will have security measures in place that will minimize the chance of this happening. They will also be more likely to help you straighten things out if something does go wrong.
- Don't keep your credit card info and Social Security Number on your PC.
While it may seem a handy place, if you get hacked, scanning programs can pick up the pattern of credit card numbers very easily.
- Use credit cards with good identity theft protection.
This is a common feature of credit cards these days and is worth having. - Beware of phishing
Emails, web alerts and other 'official' notifications will arrive asking you to enter critical information, and they always have a good reason for asking.
They may claim to be from your bank working on a problem with your account, of from a vendor correcting an issue with product shipment.
ust remember, a bank or a reputable vendor will never ask you for secure information in an email. Really. They won't. So if they do, the they are probably not who you think they are.
Report phishing attempts right away. Contact the organization that the message appears to be from and let them know about the attempt.
- Keep your Malware and Anti Virus software up to date.
Many ID thefts are done using software planted on your PC by an infected file or site.
- Beware of security alerts that are not from your installed security programs. These are often attempts to put identity theft programs on your PC.
- Monitor your credit card activity often.
Make sure that you can identify all of the charges on your account and report any that you think might be fraudulent.
Keep a copy of any on line confirmations, either electronically or in print to help you remember just what you purchased.
- Run credit reports regularly.
Make sure that you can identify all of the charges on your account and report any that you think might be fraudulent.
Keep a copy of any on line confirmations, either electronically or in print to help you remember just what you purchased.
- Keep your credit card info handy.
If your accounts are compromised, it is up to you to contact your bank, credit card companies, etc. to start the correction process.
