How can I protect myself from identity theft ?
August 28th, 2010
Like many people these days, I’m interested in protecting myself from identity theft and the problems that result . There are always con artists who are trying to find out somebody’s bank account number, etc . If somebody has my information, could they empty out my bank account long distance ? My question might interest a lot of other people besides myself, so it’s worth asking . How can I protect myself from identity theft ? Thank you in advance for your answers .
you cannot protect yourself. The best thing to do is buy insurance from an insurance broker to make you whole just in case. Life lock is a sham and protecting your credit does not protect you from some one entering say a hospital and putting every thing in your name and social. Buy insurance it is pretty cheap
If you live in the United States, I use this program called Debt Watchers created by partnership between Primerica and Equifax. Basically it will pull all your information from Equifax instantly when you sign up. It will then show you a game plan on how to pay off all your debts in the most effective way with the lowest possible cost (cost is the interest you pay to the banks). They also provide 4 FICO Score reports in a 12 month period and a FICO score simulator. It also includes Identity Theft Insurance for coverage up to $25,000 with no deductibles. You can also setup email and text message alerts too to any sudden changes to your credit file such as new accounts being opened or a large purchase was made on one of your credit cards.
I pay $14.95/month for this service.
There are a number of things you can do to prevent this and protect yourself from identity theft, including:
- Keep your PIN and password secret
- Shred or destroy any personal documents which contain financial details if you want to get rid of them
- Protect your computer from viruses with firewall software
- Be careful abut cold callers and unsolicited emails – don’t give them any personal details
- Always cover your hand when typing in your PIN
- Consider identity theft cover
I left my purse in a shopping cart one day and had the same questions. After many long hours of research I realized there is no one that will guarantee from identity theft 100%. Too much of your information is already out there…. loan applications, student loans, etc…
That’s why I’m a big believer in some form of credit monitoring. Lifelock originally didn’t do much of this but I hear their new Command Center improves in this area. Identity Guard is the service I chose but the credit bureaus have cheaper protection services. It’s complicated but here’s a pretty informative article by Greg Mckeon from IDProtectionGuide.net that explains choosing a service.