Identity theft and why its only going to get worse and what you can do to protect yourself from it

Identity theft and why its only going to get worse and what you can do to protect yourself from it

By David Maillie

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Keep your wits about you in your daily activities. Seemingly nonchalant activities like someone hanging out near an ATM you may use or a gas pump may have an ulterior motive. They may be trying to see your password, card number, etc… Also be alert for the more intelligent thief. They are known to hide in a dark vehicle and have a digital camera setup to record your every move. There are fake inserts which a thief can quickly install in any machine that accepts card payments and it will record all the info hard coded in the magnetic strip – your account number, pin number (some cards actually have this in the magnetic strip) and expiration date and these can be bought right over the internet. So beware of strange protrusions or something that may not look right and report to the bank or gas station.

Another very good protection is to routinely (once a year) make it a point to pull your credit report and look for things that don’t belong. Its now federal law that you be allotted one free credit report per year so you can check for discrepancies and identity theft (with ID theft aside this is still a great idea as congressional hearings found that over half of all credit reports contain some kind of error which has a negative impact on the credit and score). It is said that the average identity theft takes 14 months to be uncovered (don’t let this happen to you). Have your credit pulled and look for anything out of the ordinary.

Look for new accounts and entries which are false. This is a common ruse of ID thieves to have all bills sent to a different address so you will not find out about the theft sometimes for years. If you find something that totally doesn’t belong take it to the authorities and let them handle it for you. As another added measure you can add a alert to your credit profile. This will make it so that all potential creditors must contact you first by phone prior to opening any account or issuing credit (this is very effective in stopping these thieves before they even start).

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Another great idea is to install a spyware, firewall and antivirus program on your computer. Several manufacturers like McAffee and Norton offer full suites that give you a broad and complete protection for you and your information while you are surfing the internet. They aren’t expensive (around $10 to $70) and they are worth their weight in gold as they will keep hackers out, stop viruses, Trojan horses, malware (malicious spyware) and worms from embedding themselves on your computer and making your life frustrating to say the least, and they will block spam and make you anonymous while surfing the internet. With all the ID theft, viruses, etc… floating around today it is essential that you have some sort of complete protection if you are connected to the internet. It would be insane not to.

Here’s a good tip – get a phone answering machine and caller ID. Caller ID is standard with most VOIP (internet) phone services and a cheap add on for regular land lines. If someone calls their phone number will be displayed and you can choose whether to answer it or not. If it shows up as unknown, anonymous, etc… than it is most likely a telemarketer, scam artist or ID thief and don’t pick it up. Even if you’re not sure let it go to the answering machine. If its important they will leave a message and you can always call them back.

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