How to Avoid Identity Theft

While it’s definitely one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today, it is possible to avoid identity theft. There’s nothing in the world that can guarantee that you will never have an account of yours compromised or that someone won’t get a hold of your sensitive information and use it for their own purposes, but like locking your doors and getting a big dog can protect you from break-ins, there are some obvious yet simple things you can do to avoid identity theft.

Knowing how these people operate is a good way to avoid identity theft. A home security expert will explain to someone how a potential robber thinks and operates before making recommendations, so if you understand what identity thieves look for then you know what to avoid. Keep in mind that paperwork with your sensitive information – social security number, driver’s license number, credit card and bank account numbers – are like precious gems to them.

This information is what they need so to avoid identity theft you need to make sure they can’t get their hands on this type of paperwork. This doesn’t mean becoming a packrat and keeping everything you come across every day but it does mean being fastidious about shredding and destroying paperwork before you throw it out. You may have heard this advice millions of times – to avoid identity theft, shred your paperwork. Well, there’s a reason why everyone keeps talking about it. Shredding is a simple step that many people just don’t follow through with.

You can also avoid identity theft by carefully keeping guard over your information and watching it like you would your own children. You wouldn’t trust your child to a stranger, so why would you just punch in your name, social security number, bank account numbers, and any information on any old website you come across?

If you want to shop online or pay bills online this can actually help you to avoid identity theft as there are less people that have access to your information, but it pays to use discretion with websites. Offers from companies to check your credit report or statements from places that look like PayPal or eBay should be approached with caution. They could be fraudulent or just from companies looking for your information. To avoid identity theft, be careful about sites you use online.

While it’s best to try to avoid identity theft rather than assume that you can easily fix any problems later on down the road, it helps to keep an eye on your bank account and credit card statements as often as possible. Many allow you to have online access so that you can log on as often as you’d like and check your charges and balance. This way you can catch any problems the minute they crop up.

Your bank and credit card company may also have suggestions for more protection they can offer to help you avoid identity theft as well.

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Tags: id theft, Identity Theft