How can I protect myself from identity theft?

There are many aspects of life that we take for granted and they end up proving the most troublesome

for us. We only revert back to them with full focus once they have done their harm. Let this not happen

to you in the case of identity theft, because like they say “prevention is always better than cure”. There

are certain keen checks you need to perform on your personal belongings in order to protect yourself

from the hazards of identity theft. In addition it is recommended that you look into some sort of

identity theft protection service which will keep id theft from happening in the first place.

Always keep cards in a safe place

Be it your ID card, driver’s license, credit card, ATM card, passport, security pass or any other card! Be

sure to keep it in a safe place as they can directly lead to an identity theft if misplaced.

Never share your personal information with others

Ranging from your cell-phone pin/pass codes to your bank statement; never allow anyone to intervene

in your personal affairs no matter what relationship you share with them. This is not because you doubt

that they will steal your identity but because the more you have leaked your personal information, the

more you stand vulnerable to the risk of theft of identity by identity thieves.

Check your bank account regularly

Take the time out from your busy life to regularly make calls to your bank and check your personal

statements so that you may be notified of any irregular activity taking place under your name.

Following these simple guidelines enables you to safeguard against the threat of ID theft and save you

from additional trouble once the crime has taken place.

What should I do to prevent Identity Theft?

Identity theft is becoming more and more popular in developed countries where systems are mostly

automated and the usage of banking and credit facilities is rapid. In the developing countries however,

the trend is rather low as the masses are not so exposed to credit borrowing facilities and as the banking

systems are still in their development phases, as well. However it cannot be said that identity theft-like

crimes do not exist in some parts of the world. It is one of those increasing crimes that may be done for

multiple purposes, for example gaining financial advantage on behalf of the person whose identity was

stolen in the first place or to indulge into any illegal activity not permitted by the state of international

laws such as travelling within or outside of the country for terrorism purpose and so on.

The question that arises here is how to prevent this growing evil from occurring in the first place.

Although you cannot prevent identity theft from happening to others except for maybe a word or two of

advice, you can take self-precautionary measures and effectively prevent it from happening to you!

To prevent identity theft, one must always keep updated with the bank and their provided bank

statements. Any suspicion regarding a transaction you fear you have not made must be taken up with

them, immediately.

Further, to protect the privacy of your personal documents, always shred before you throw them away.

Any document that particularly deals with listing your account numbers, pass codes or the like must

always be shredded before being thrown away.

Moreover, you should keep all your personal belongings in an extremely safe place. Avoid usage of

multiple cards at one time. Keep your wallet as light as possible and be sure to handle it with utmost

care.

You can also prevent identity theft by not keeping any pass codes, pin numbers or ID-card numbers in

your cell phone contacts list. Try to remember them instead! Cell phones are also an easy way to reach

your personal information and use it for crimes such as identity theft! Therefore, one must abstain from

keeping any relevant information that can turn out to be juicy details for Identity thieves.

By signing up with an identity protection service you can make sure this private information is not going

to be used by a crook.

How do you know if you are a victim of Identity theft?

According to “creditrepair.org” in a recent report issued (http://www.creditrepair.org/identity-

crisis/) only 38-48 percent of ID theft victims realize what has happened to them in the first

three months of the event, about 9-18 percent of victims take up to four years or longer to

realize they have been victimized by Identity thieves. More so, it also indicates that adults aged

between 18-24 years are most likely to miss signs of identity theft completely!

When even the ever-shining celebrities like Rich Fields from “The Price is Right” have been

made victims of identity theft-like crimes, you certainly know that you are not safe. Here are

some of the indicators to watch for to prevent being a victim of this increasingly popular crime!

i. Calls for confirmation or follow up’s on accounts you never opened or credit cards you didn’t

request for:

As understood, identity theft is usually committed for gaining some financial advantage on

behalf of another person. Hence an identity thief will most likely request for multiple credit

cards by providing your stolen personal info, or perhaps even requesting for a new account; any

fast way that enables him to quickly take possession of your stored money!

ii. Being denied credit despite having a good history:

This happens in cases where the identity theft has been going on for quite some time. Victims

are unaware of the defaults accumulated against their credit history and one fine day they are

denied credit when requested for.

iii. Confirmation calls from stores regarding a big purchase you apparently made:

One of the common uses of identity theft is to acquire pricey commodities that may be either

consumed or resold by the identity thief. One day you may get a call from a well-known store

stating the delivery or confirmation of your purchase.

You need to stay on guard when availing a number of services from the banking or credit

agencies, because we all know that “with great power comes great responsibility”; it is one’s

own responsibility to guard against his identity theft.

You can compare the 4 best identity theft protection services here to see which one is best for

you.