Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Identity Theft Prevention - Protecting Your Personal Information

By Jake M. Black

Identity theft prevention is very important as much of our private information is now kept online and many hackers are finding ways to access this information and then ruin your credit history or take your other important information. Shielding all of your private financial information is very important and there are steps you can take to prevent identity theft.

The most popular stolen information is social security numbers, phone calling cards, debit card information and credit card information. Criminals still use the old trided and true method of going through trash to collect documents that contain your personal information. However those with a lot of experience with computers can hack their way into your system to obtain your information.

A very important step for identity theft prevention is to destroy all of your personal documents before you throw them out. Tearing up or shredding your documents is a way of ensuring that no one can access your information.

You should never carry around your social security card but keep it locked up in a safe and fire proof place. Other cards that have your social security number should also be kept safe. It is also important to not leave any type of paper trail so make sure you either take all of your ATM, and receipts with you or don't request a receipt.

Always keep your credit cards on you and don't let it out of your sight. If possible pay with cash when you can as any time you take your card out is the opportunity for someone to steal your number. Also make sure you know who is asking for your private and personal information. If someone calls from a bank make sure that their request is legitimate. If necessary you can contact the company yourself to ensure that they have requested that information.

It is important to keep your credit card within sight at all times. Every time you take it out of your wallet there is the potential for someone to gain access to your number. Before you hand over your credit card information or other personal information online or over the phone make sure you know who is asking. Before you part with this information contact the company to make sure the request is legitimate.

You also want to keep track of your information by monitoring your credit report. You can receive a free credit report each year for free and you should look for suspicious information. You also should review your credit card statements each month and make sure you keep track of your purchases.

About the Author:

No comments: