9 Smart Ways to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

9 Smart Ways to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

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These days, identity theft is a growing concern that should not be ignored. All someone has to do is get a hold of a few of your personal details, and they can essentially become you on paper. They are able to charge your credit card, open new accounts in your name, or completely liquidate all your accounts.

In pursuing financial success, it is critical to be able to protect yourself against identity theft. You can work diligently to build great credit and wealth, and it all can come crumbling down in an instant if your identity is stolen. In this article, I will highlight 9 ways to protect yourself against identity theft.

9 Smart Ways to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft.

Shred your documents and receipts.

All that junk mail that you throw right into the trash has identifying information on it that could be useful to an identity thief. Shred all the mail that has sensitive information on it before throwing it away. You would be surprised at the amount of identity thieves who will dumpster dive to score your personal details.

Don’t forget your receipts either! I am sometimes tempted not to wait on my receipt to print at the gas station pump and just go ahead about my day. However, there are thieves that are good enough to use a simple credit card receipt with only your name and the last 4 digits showing to use that card to make their own purchases. Make sure to always dispose of your credit card receipts in a safe way.

Keep identifying documents safe and secure.

Identifying documents: passport, social security card, birth certificate, etc. Do not carry these documents around with you! They could easily get lost of stolen if you get too busy and distracted during your day.

I have known some people to carry their social security card around in their wallet.

MISTAKE.

If someone were to steal your wallet, they would have access to all the information needed to open new accounts in your name. Keep these documents tucked away in a secure place at home like a safe or locked file box instead.

In pursuing financial success, it is critical to be able to protect yourself against identity theft. Click To Tweet

Keep sensitive information off of social media.

Over-sharer: someone who gives out too many details about his/her personal life to others.

If you are a self-diagnosed over-sharer, think twice about what you put on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform. Once information is out on the web, it stays out there.

Sure, you can upload 12 pictures of your cats to FB but don’t put up a picture of your bill complaining about how much it is.

Hello!

All your information is on those statements! I have even seen people post pictures of their new drivers license. When you do that, everyone on Facebook (and beyond) now knows your full name, birthdate, and address. Just be smart and pay close attention to what information you are really posting for all to see.

Be smart on social media and pay close attention to what information you are really posting for all to see. Click To Tweet

Be wary of information given out over the phone.

There are some pretty legitimate sounding scams out there these days. One way that thieves can steal your identity is by calling you and posing as a known establishment, like your bank, credit card company, or a government agency. Don’t just freely give out your SSN, address, or DOB over the phone. Make sure to verify exactly who is calling, who they work for, and why they need your information.

Lie on your security questions.

This is a great trick that I heard from Adam Levin, author of Swiped, who is featured in the clip below. With our information all over social media, like we already talked about, it is much easier for thieves to get past your security questions on your accounts. For example:

“What is your mother’s maiden name? Find her Facebook profile.

“What is your pet’s name? Look up all the Instagram pics of your sweet puppy Max.

With just a little digging through social media, thieves can find answers to most of your security questions. So you can lie when setting up your security questions so that only you will truly know the correct answer. Of course, you have to be able to remember the lie so you can get into your own account. If you have a good memory, this can be a great way to protect yourself against identity theft.

Communicate with your banks regularly.

Any decent bank will contact you if they see purchases made in locations that are far away from you. This way, they are able to quickly close or freeze your account if in fact you did not make those purchases. Make sure you have these fraud alerts set up with your bank.

On the flip side, if you are going to be traveling in the near future, it’s also good to let your bank know! If they are aware that you are vacationing in Mexico, they won’t freeze your card in the middle of your vacation. Just be sure to verify all your purchases made when you return from your trip.

Also, check with your bank every few months to make sure the address and phone number they have on file is correct. Sometimes thieves will change this information so they have easier access to your accounts.

Use online banking.

Sign up for online banking so that you will have access to your statements 24/7. Online banking is fantastic for being able to pull up all your transactions instantly so you can keep a close eye on activity on your account.

I recommend you do a check of all the transactions on all of your accounts at least once per week. If you see unauthorized transactions, you will be able to report it immediately and stop the thief before they continue to rack up charges.

Be smart when you use the web.

Use strong passwords to all of your online accounts. This is an easy way to protect yourself from identity theft. A strong password uses upper & lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Don’t make it anything that someone could easily guess. Like “iluvmydog” or the old favorite “password”. Choose a strong password that you can remember and keep it secret. Try not to write it down where others could potentially see it and use it.

Try to avoid using public wiFi that is not password protected. These networks are easy to hack into and thieves know it. If you are connected to these networks, you could potentially be opening yourself up to getting hacked and losing sensitive information.

Don’t click on suspicious emails, pop-ups, or phony websites. These can all lead to viruses on your computer which leak your information to the identity thief. If you see an email from an unfamiliar person, delete it. When browsing the web, exit out of any pop-ups that you did not initiate. Lastly, make sure that the website you are using is authentic (especially if you are online shopping or using online banking.) Website urls that are misspelled are a dead giveaway.

Read more on how to spot a fake website here.

Check your credit report once a year.

So how do you know if someone steals your information and opens new loan or credit accounts in your name? By checking your credit report. Your report will list all the accounts you have open, how old they are, and who they are with. You will see automatically if there are accounts that you didn’t open. You will also be able to keep a check on your credit score. Unexplainable drops in your score could be caused by identity theft. (You can order your credit report through TransUnion by clicking the banner below – I may receive a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you.)

What do you do if you think you are a victim of identity theft?

Report it. Immediately.

Call your banks and credit card companies. File a report with the local authorities. Fill out a report on IdentityTheft.gov. Here is a video by the FTC that talks about what to do if your identity has been stolen.

Want extra protection against identity theft?

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