Identityfraudresources.com

Preventing Identity Theft – Is This Achievable?

In the case of preventing identity theft, life does not mimic art. We are guilty of assuming that what we see on television is real. Pretty much like any other crime, most cases of identity theft online cannot be prevented. A person’s best course of action may lie in taking steps to minimize their chances of falling victim.

From widely available identity theft facts, if someone followed just the commonsense tips we have listed below, you are placing yourself light years ahead of more than 90 percent of the North American population.

Unfortunately and in spite of many available identity theft services, this is easier said than done since we, for the most part, still believe that this crime only affects our neighbors, never us. Why try to prevent identity theft if it doesn’t affect us?

Still, if you followed this course of action, you would discover if you have been victimized sooner than most, and therein lies the advantage. A recent FTC identity theft data survey found that 25% of credit identity theft victims took six months or more to discover their financial information had in fact been compromised.

Discovering the fraud sooner, puts you at a distinct advantage since now,you have an opportunity to mitigate the losses. You must act now however!

Commonsense Tips to preventing identity theft. Online Identity Protection.

• Begin with your internet access. Install virus protection software that do two things automatically. First it should have its own Firewall, and secondly, it should update itself AUTOMATICALLY. The software should also Id Theft Protection as a part of their solution.

• Password-protect all computer files that contain sensitive data. Never use the most obvious names and numbers to create passwords, for example, SSN digits, mother’s maiden name, birthdays etc. Remember, hackers always start with these when phishing.

• A further caution: If you are a Windows operating system user, a good identity protection plan begins with NEVER allowing Windows to save your password. This is one of the easiest things for hackers to crack. You have been warned!

• Check all financial statements AS SOON AS THEY ARE RECEIVED. Time works against you just as hard as it works for an identity thief. Identity theft stories abound with financial mail being redirected to an id thief’s address.

• Never, ever give identifying information over the telephone, unless of course, you placed the call and you are certain that you have the correct trusted party at the other end.

“We won’t kid you, so don’t kid yourself. No one can promise to prevent identity fraud from making you a victim. We will tell you though, there are programs out there that most certainly do a good job of protecting your identity.”

• Always be conscious of your surroundings when using ATM’S or phone cards. “Shoulder surfers” are using very sophisticated equipment and can record information from hidden locations using binoculars and video cameras

• Keep records of expenditures AND compare them with monthly statements as soon as they are received. Follow the directions on the statements to resolve inconsistencies.

• Shred all sensitive documents before placing them in the trash. Use a cross-cut shredder and yes, put the trash out in the morning of trash pickup days.

• The most important Tip in our opinion, Invest in a good Identity Theft Service! You have no excuse if you own items like a car, house or boat alarms, security lights, motion detectors, health club memberships, etc, you already know the value of insurance. Identity Protection Services should be considered as insurance for your personal information!

Is there something you can do to Prevent Identity Theft? What is it?

First and foremost, as mentioned before, preventing identity theft is a pipe dream, but a protection package can give you some peace of mind.

You now know that, by having the fraud protection, you will detect the crime early enough to minimize it’s impact on your lifestyle.

In addition, a package should allow you to take the following corrective measures:

1. Review your credit standings through a current credit report
2. Monitor your credit continuously
3. Restore your name without you still having to make the usual sacrifices of time and finances, as you would have to do without the protection in place.

There is really only one company that covers these three aspects with distinction. They are not newcomers to the field of Identity Theft and have done work for large companies as well as the Federal Government. Because we are affiliated with them, in fairness, we will not publish their name here. What we will do, is mention that you may contact us HERE and we will send you a link to their website.

P. S. Just as a side-note, we have heard some people say that we shouldn’t be charged to have our Identities monitored. Let’s be realistic here. The charge is really insignificant to begin with and secondly, without having any alternative, should we just sit back and hope that it doesn’t happen to us? Fat chance of that happening according to the FTC, and we are accepting that they know what they are talking about!

There are many things in life we should not be paying for and yet we still do. Here in the United States we pay for water, a natural element that should be freely available to all human beings as a God-given entitlement.

We will say this, the choice is always up to us. When we decide not to buy groceries, we are saying in essence, that we don’t mind going hungry. Preventing identity theft is something we most certainly don’t have to do, however, are we ready to face all consequences stemming from a loss due to theft of our identity?