Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft
Identity Theft is when someone uses your personal information without your approval to commit fraud. Such fraud can manifest itself in a multitude of ways ranging from credit taken out in your name to accounts being hijacked. Costs to you of these crimes range greatly in personal liability
Since New Years is sandwiched between major gift-giving holidays and tax season, financial improvement is a common theme for resolutions; there are many opportunities to shore up your personal defenses as well as to become a victim. Let’s explore the former to prevent the latter.
Here are 5 easy-to-implement ways to protect yourself against identity theft.
1. Phishing (pronounced ‘fishing’) – Phishing is when criminals email you pretending to be a legitimate company or organization requiring your personal or financial information. These emails may look very professional and claim that your bank or the government needs to update their records and ask for account and Social Security numbers. In some cases they may have a link to an official looking site for you to enter your information there. Your bank or other financial institution will never ask for this information over email. Any reputable places you shop on-line will not either. This includes common websites where you may have purchased gifts on-line such as EBay, Amazon, PayPal, etc. If you are concerned about updating your financial records, be certain to contact that institution directly. If there is a phone number in such an email, do not call it!
2. Credit Report- Order regular copies of your credit report. Review these for unauthorized transactions, accounts, and anomalies. Be sure that all of your personal information is correct, including names, dates, and addresses. To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free 877-322-8228
3. Secure Your Information – Do not leave credit cards or financial statements lying around your house (especially important if you are having work done or lots of visitors). Consider locking your mail box or canceling delivery of paper statements so people cannot drive up and steal your information. Ensure that credit card receipts left with merchants or disposed of do not include your information. Use your pen to cross out account numbers, names, and expiration dates left on both copies of credit card receipts.
4. TANSTAAFL (There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch)- A common Identity Theft trend is when victims are contacted to cash a check or hold some funds for someone else in return for writing a check against your account. This scam entices victims by stating that they will be able to keep a portion or a percentage of the amount deposited. Some variations of the scam actually send the victim a fake check to deposit while others request bank information in order to make a fund transfer. In either case the funds never arrive or are fraudulent and you may be liable for funds withdrawn from your account. Never, ever give your financial information to anyone you do not trust with the entirety of your assets. Never deposit checks from people you do not trust.
5. Donation Scams – With so many horrifically devastating disasters occurring in the past year (hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc), many generous souls have decided to contribute to relief efforts. Unfortunately there are many out there that subvert these gifts and use them to pad their own accounts or to commit identity theft against those who gifted. The rule should be to only give to charitable organizations that are tried and true (ex. Red Cross, United Way, Unicef, etc) and that you contact with numbers found in the phone book.
Note: Shortly after writing this article, I received an email Donation Scam. I am pasting it below. Note the abuse of grammar, poor spelling, and the promises of riches. All respondents to these emails will be asked for their bank account information that will be emptied in short order by these thieves. Don’t be a victim!
FROM:MRS Elizarberth Kardiri Abidjan
COTE D’IVOIREWEST AFRICA
Dear FRIEND,
I am MRS Elizarberth Kardiri the wife of late former Director of Finance, Mr S. John Kardir, Sierra-Leone diamond and mining corporation. I must confess my agitation is real, and my words is my bond, in this proposal. My late husband diverted this money meant for purchase of ammunition, for my country, during peak of disastrous civil war in my country, now he has deposited the money in a bank in Abidjan, where I am residing under political asylum with my son micheal Kardiri. Now the war in the my country is over with the help of ECOMOG solders, the present government of Sierra-Leone has revoked the passport of all officers who served under the former regime and now ask Countries to expel such person at the same time freeze their acc ount and confiscate their asset, it is on this not that I am contacting you, all I needed from you is to assist me transfer this money in your private bank account, the said amount is $4.2 000.000.00M (four million two Hundred us dollars). I am compensating you with 25% of the total amount,and 2% miscellanous now all my hope is banked on you and I really wants toinvest this money in your country, were there is stability of Government, political and economic welfare. Honestly I want you to believe that, this transaction is real and never a joke. My late husband Mr S. John Kardir i gave me the Certificate of Deposit issued to him by the bank on the date of deposit, for you to be clearified because, I do not expose my self to anybody I see, I believed that you will be able to keep this transaction secret for me because this money is the hope o f my me and my son life, it is important. Please contact me immediately if you have gone through my message fill free and make it urgent.
NB: try and negotiate for me some profitable blue chip investment opportunities which is risk free which I can invest this money when it is transferred to your account personally I am interested in estate management and hotel business, please advice me.
Useful Resource:
� Federal Trade Commission: National ID Theft Resource http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
