The dawning of the Information Age brings with it identity and credit theft and the need for identity theft protection. With all sorts of personal information, i.e. credit card and social security numbers being exchanged, it should be no surprise that some unscrupulous people are out there ready to grab that info and exploit it to the fullest. Your credit, cellular and phone services are up for grabs. Once these unscrupulous thieves get your info, they can and do use it. The bottom line is - there exists the possibility that your credit and finances can be destroyed. How do you protect yourself against identity theft? These simple points should help.

Check Protection:

• When ordering checks have only your initials (instead of your first name) and last name printed on the check. If someone steals your checks they will not know how to sign them.
• When writing checks to credit card companies, DO NOT put the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead just put in the last four digits. The company will know the numbers and any one handling the check as it is processed will not have access.
• Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that address instead of your home.
• Never print your Drivers License number, Date of Birth or Social Security number on your checks.

ATM Card Protection:

• Keep the available cash in your debit card accounts to a minimum. Keeping it low lowers your risk. Put the rest in savings. If someone not authorized uses that card, or if an authorized company makes a mistake, the money is gone. With a credit card company you have 30 days to dispute and void the transaction. You do not have that protection with an ATM/Debit card.

On-line Purchasing & Computer Protection:

• Only use secure, well-known, established websites for e-commerce credit card or ATM transactions.
• Except for programs like Quicken, which require them, do not store account info and passwords on your computer. They are accessible to hackers.

Receipts:

• Take all receipts when leaving restaurants, gas stations, and ATM machines.Your account info is there for adept hackers to use.

Mail:

• When receiving credit card or loan offers through the mail, shred them if you don’t plan on responding to the offer. A trip to your trash may yield an abundant amount of personal information that leaves you vulnerable to identity theft.

Social Security Card Protection:

• Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Never give out your social except to banks and the IRS.

Credit Card Protection:

• Photocopy both sides of all the critical info within your wallet such as credit cards and license. Keep the copies in a safe place. If your wallet is stolen you will have a record of all contents.
• We all know to cancel our credit cards in the event of theft. Don’t wait a second. Keep the toll free numbers to each of the credit card companies with the copies of your credit cards for quick access. When trying to shut down identity theft, speed is of the essence or they could charge your life away.
• In the event your cards are stolen, file a police report immediately. This proves to the credit providers that you were diligent.The most important thing to remember is to call the three national credit-reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. This alert means that any company that checks your credit knows the info was stolen and must contact you by phone to authorize new credit. The numbers are: