ID theft protection is a practice that must be learned by all consumers. This can largely aid them in protecting their identity against the harmful impacts of identity theft. Here are some things you can do to arm yourself from ID theft.
Basic safety precautions
You cannot totally prevent identity theft, but there are specific things you can do to minimize your vulnerability against it. You have lots of personal information to protect, and safeguarding it should be comprehensive.
Is it really necessary to have credit monitoring [http://www.creditdata.com/credit-monitoring/] to watch over your credit for you? For some, it's irrelevant, because you choose to monitor your credit yourself. But it's definitely not easy. When you monitor your own credit, you will have to request copies of your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You are entitled to receive one free copy of your report from each of these companies once a year. You can check your credit reports for any suspicious charges or fraudulent accounts opened in your name. But what if your report is clear when you check it? Does this mean you're free from the threat? Remember, thieves can victimize you at any point in time. They can even use your identity after you have checked your free credit reports, because now, you have to wait for a year before you can check again. Imagine the debts they might rack up in this span of time--they can leave you in a helpless situation of trying to repair your credit over activities for which you were not responsible.
Credit monitoring services give you peace of mind, because they check your credit report daily, not once a year or every four months. If there's a thief trying to access your credit to apply for loans or credit cards, it can be spotted quickly and easily. While they cannot stop identity theft immediately, they will notify you of any suspicious activities, so you can act right away to prevent theft from causing further damage. Simply put, a credit monitoring service provides an added layer of protection for your identity and your finances. Even though there is a charge for the service, you will gain peace of mind knowing that you're credit is safe and in order at all times.
Basic safety precautions
You cannot totally prevent identity theft, but there are specific things you can do to minimize your vulnerability against it. You have lots of personal information to protect, and safeguarding it should be comprehensive.
- Bring only what you need. If you have many credit cards or identification cards in your wallet, what do you think would happen if your wallet gets stolen? Identity thieves would go for these valuables, not only your cash. It's important to minimize the number of identification and credit cards you bring with you when you're out and about. If there is no reason to bring it, leave it safely at home. Remember that it's easier to take precautions and to guard a light wallet than a fat one.
- Take care of your trash. Garbage bins are a gold mine for thieves, especially if you simply toss your old documents. Those documents might have sensitive and important personal information about you just as the documents in your mailbox and your fire-proof safe might have. You don't have to completely guard your trash from being stolen, you just need to shred or destroy any paper you have before throwing them out. This minimizes the opportunities for thieves to get your sensitive information.
- Protect your social security number. Your social security number is a critical piece of information. You use it to apply for loans, seek government services, claim benefits, and even when applying for employment. There's no need to actually bring your social security card with you all the time, you only need to memorize it. As long as you remember your social security number, you are good to go. Bringing your social security card with you just increases the vulnerability of it being stolen.
Is it really necessary to have credit monitoring [http://www.creditdata.com/credit-monitoring/] to watch over your credit for you? For some, it's irrelevant, because you choose to monitor your credit yourself. But it's definitely not easy. When you monitor your own credit, you will have to request copies of your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You are entitled to receive one free copy of your report from each of these companies once a year. You can check your credit reports for any suspicious charges or fraudulent accounts opened in your name. But what if your report is clear when you check it? Does this mean you're free from the threat? Remember, thieves can victimize you at any point in time. They can even use your identity after you have checked your free credit reports, because now, you have to wait for a year before you can check again. Imagine the debts they might rack up in this span of time--they can leave you in a helpless situation of trying to repair your credit over activities for which you were not responsible.
Credit monitoring services give you peace of mind, because they check your credit report daily, not once a year or every four months. If there's a thief trying to access your credit to apply for loans or credit cards, it can be spotted quickly and easily. While they cannot stop identity theft immediately, they will notify you of any suspicious activities, so you can act right away to prevent theft from causing further damage. Simply put, a credit monitoring service provides an added layer of protection for your identity and your finances. Even though there is a charge for the service, you will gain peace of mind knowing that you're credit is safe and in order at all times.
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