Identity theft is rampant in the country and if you think that you’re not vulnerable to it, think again. Identity thieves are becoming more sophisticated than ever, and you may have already been the victim of an attack without realizing it. While it’s hard to stay 100% safe from ID theft, there are some things that you can do to not make yourself an easy target. Just making some minor changes could greatly reduce the chances that you get attacked. Let’s look at a few ways to protect yourself from ID theft.
Invest in a Paper Shredder
One of the first things you should do is get yourself a decent paper shredder. You’d be surprised by how much information people can get on you by sifting through your garbage, and the last thing you want is for them to have crucial information like your address and bank account bank number. From then on, they would only need to get a few other pieces of information to either steal money from you or open a fictitious account in your name. This is why all your personal documents should be destroyed before you throw them away.
Monitor Your Credit Closely
Keeping a close eye on your credit can also be great protection against ID theft. Why? Because getting an alert that there has been inquiry on your credit report when you didn’t initiate it is the best way to know that someone is trying to use your identity. If you want to check the state of your report, credit reporting agencies have packages that will allow you to do that, but they can get expensive if you want unlimited access. Instead, we would suggest you work with third-party services like Important Score.
If you want to know more about this service, check out www.top10.com/id-theft/reviews/important-score. They will give you unlimited access to your credit reports and they have a bevy of ID theft monitoring tools. This is a perfect service if you truly care about preserving your identity.
Never Use Public Networks without a VPN
Public networks can be extremely dangerous if you’re trying to preserve your identity. Many people don’t realize this, but public networks don’t have the best security. Nearly anyone with basic hacking skills can eavesdrop on these connections and start gathering unencrypted information from the people using them.
A thief could get access to things like your online banking credentials or your email password. Someone who has access to your email account could do all sorts of things, especially if they’ve gathered other crucial pieces of information.
Hackers are not the only people you have to worry about either. Sometimes, the network’s administrator is the one collecting that information. This is why you should never use a public connection without a VPN.
A VPN will encrypt the information you share online and completely hide your identity. This is a tool anyone who routinely likes to surf in places like coffee shops and airports should use. But, before you pick a VPN, you have to make sure that it’s safe as even VPNs can be used as tools to get your information. So, look up many different VPNs out there and see what their security track record is.
Safeguard Your Information When Shopping Online
When you shop online, you want to share as little information as possible. This is why you should think twice about buying from a store that requires you to sign up for an account before you buy. They will often ask you for additional information that they don’t need to have access to. Instead, see if you can buy as a guest and erase your cookies right after you buy. We would also suggest that you pay with PayPal whenever you get the chance. This will allow you to prevent sharing your credit card number online. For more information on the pros and cons of PayPal, visit the following link: https://financialwellness.org/paypal-pros-cons-review/.
Never Trust Emails Asking for Personal Information
Never trust text messages or emails asking you to give out personal information or perform any type of action. If your account with a certain service has been compromised, know that there are many ways for them to notify you and they will never ask you to volunteer information through an email. If you get this type of message, you need to look at the address of the recipient. If it’s the same name as a company but with a different extension, or the URL has been modified in some shape or form, beware. It’s also better to log into the account that was supposedly compromised and see if you see alerts there. You can also go a step further and call the company directly to see if there’s something wrong.
These are all things that everyone can do to limit the risk of ID theft. Know that everyone can be a target, so don’t assume you’re safe and take all the steps necessary to protect yourself.
