How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Every day, thousands of men and women are tricked into revealing private and personal information that ends up being used to steal their identities, drain their bank accounts, and cause them years of emotional turmoil, debt, and legal woes.

If you’re looking for ways to protect yourself from identity theft, you need to understand the enemy. Knowing who is out there trying to take your most sensitive information is very important. You must also understand how most identity theft scams play out.

 
By arming yourself with knowledge, you will increase your chances of staying safe from identity theft.

An Introduction to Identity Theft Protection

Protecting yourself may be as simple as shielding your keypad with your other hand while you punch in your PIN at an ATM or retail outlet. Sometimes, when life gets busy, we forget that scammers are out there, spending their days looking for new victims. These shady criminals line up behind others, waiting to see what they enter into machines. It’s safe to say that any information that an identity thief collects on you will soon be used against you.

After all, it’s so easy for these thieves to use the Internet or mail theft to get even more information about your life, bank accounts, and personal identification numbers. Maintaining a heightened sense of security when you are out in public is the first step to protecting your identity.

Never give canvassers on the street your name, address and phone number, no matter how earnest, sincere, and honest they appear to be. Be careful about filling out ballots for contests in your community or dropping your business cards in glass jars to get discounts on goods. Anyone may take this information, and you will have no control over how it is used. Getting away from the idea of trusting others and guarding your personal details constantly is your best defense against identity theft.

To secure your bank cards and other data, consider investing in a travel wallet that you may use even in your own city. This straps to your chest or ankle, where thieves are less likely to find it. These types of security/travel accessories are available online or through local travel supply companies. They may even be available at chain stores like Wal-Mart.

Understanding and Avoiding Identity Theft

The next step to understanding and avoiding identity theft is to create a strategy for protecting yourself online. Today, many identity thieves trawl for your private data via phishing scams or bogus websites that tempt you to turn over very important and private personal information in order to win a prize or access a special offer. Most of the time, these websites are simply facades; there are no contests, and there is no value is turning over your private information to these urls.

Surprising Facts about Identity Theft

It’s a surprising fact that many websites are not what they seem; even reputable-looking websites may simply be fronts for identity theft. Before registering for anything online by giving a company your name, address, age, and other personal information, really stop to think about it, is it really worth the risk?

If you do decide that it’s time to register with a website, check them out thoroughly through the Better Business Bureau, or through online customer reviews.

If something is a scam, someone will probably have posted about it online. The most reputable websites will have sterling reputations, and they will stipulate that they will never pass on your personal information to a third-party. Without this stipulation in place, you are at risk.

Now that you know how to protect yourself from identity theft, be sure to keep educating yourself. For example, follow blogs or podcasts that list tips on avoiding identity theft. Identity thieves continue adjusting their approach to scam you more effectively, so stay on your toes and play your cards very close to your chest.