With good personal security practices, you can make it difficult for criminals to steal your personal information. For instance, when was the last time you changed your password on your email or bank account? If you practice good cybersecurity, you should change your password at least once every 90 days and never use the same password twice.
If you become the victim of identity theft, your finances and reputation will be severely tarnished. You can expect to spend up to a year and thousands of dollars repairing the damage to your credit. Even worse, you could find your name tied to a crime you did not commit because someone used your information to commit a crime in your name.
Any small-time petty criminals can easily come across information they could use to steal your identity. For instance, dumpster diving is popular because it doesn’t involve much effort. Criminals can go through your trash to find personal information that they can use to steal your identity. Your old bank statements, bills, insurance cards, and tax forms are all garbage gold to identity thieves.
Do you have a locked mailbox? You might want to consider getting one because mail theft is another tactic identity thieves use. Mail stolen directly from your mailbox can contain critical information that thieves look for, such as bank statements.
Prize winnings are another way identity thieves can steal your information. Don’t be tempted by accepting prizes over the phone because many criminals use this method to steal your credit card information. If you are unsure, research the company and contact it directly to see if you won anything. If not, then you were the target of an identity thief. In this type of scam, the identity thief will tell you that you might be a contest winner for a free vacation or other gift, but you need to verify your personal information, including your birthdate.
Thieves use a method called skimming to steal debit or credit card numbers. This is performed using a small portable data storage device that captures information from the magnetic strip on a credit, debit, or automated teller machine (ATM) card either at an ATM or during a purchase.
Business record theft is another way criminals can steal your information. Thieves may dumpster dive at a business to find employee records that could include social security numbers or customer information from receipts. Alternatively, these criminals could hack into the business’ computer system or bribe an employee to gain access to the system.
While criminals have many ways to get your information, you can use some simple methods to protect it. Be aware of imposters. If you get phone calls from unknown numbers telling you that you’ve won a sweepstakes or are in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and need to immediately give up personal information over the phone, hang up and call the company or agency directly. Safely dispose of your personal information by either burning or shredding it. Encrypt your personal data, and never save private or sensitive information such as bank account numbers in an unsecure file type. Always password protect your financial information. Don’t overshare information on social networking sites because they are a breeding ground for cybercriminals. Use security software, and make sure your antivirus software is up to date. Finally, avoid phishing emails by simply deleting them and adding them to your spam list.