Identity theft is becoming easier for people that are that way inclined. Instead of having to rob you in person, or come to your home to steal what you have worked hard for, they can now do it electronically, from the other side of the world even!
There are different types of Identity theft:
- business/commercialidentity theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)
- criminalidentity theft (posing as another person when apprehended for a crime)
- financialidentity theft (using another's identity to obtain credit, goods and services)
- identity cloning(using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life)
- medicalidentity theft (using another's identity to obtain medical care or drugs)
The most awareness is about Financial Identity theft as it can happen to anyone, and in so many different ways.
An estimated 750,000 people are victimized each year losing an average of $6,767.
So the logical step is to protect yourself.
The easiest, and free, way is to make sure you know how much money you have and check your statements when they come in. You don't have to know to the penny how much you have in your account at any one time, just a rough figure. For example if you think you should have $153 in your account but you have $140 you're probably ok, but if you should have $1530 and you only have $900 then I would seriously suggest calling your bank and talking it through with them.
It could be an odd payment you forgot about (flights, car repairs etc) but its MUCH better to look silly for a minute than have someone else spend your money for you. And trust me, the banks wont laugh at you, if anything they will applaud your awareness and initiative.
Also when you are out be aware of the small things, if your card ever gets stuck in an ATM call the bank direct and check with them if there is a fault and ask someone to come out. Don't rely on numbers that are stuck on the machines though, it may look legitimate but it may not be, its always safer to get the banks number for yourself.
And finally think about how you are disposing of your statements and documents that hold private information about yourself. You might think, ‘yeah right, who would go through my rubbish', you'd be surprised, if they're not above stealing your money, they're not above going through your rubbish.
So always shred anything that contains your personal information, you don't even need a shredder, just rip them up into as many pieces as you can. For good measure I also scatter those pieces among different rubbish bags.
If you are wanting to know more about how you can protect yourself from identity theft you can purchase /?p=maggy.calka@gmail.com" this book to get more information.
Yes its $27 but considering how much you could lose if you are a victim its worth it.
