Staying away from identity theft

As computers and electronic commerce become more and more an everyday practice, the likelihood that a criminal will make off with your personal information to use it for illegal activity becomes greater. The problem of identity theft is a growing one. Should you find you have become a victim of theft of identity, it could take years to straighten out. It is quite possible that a thief who gets his or her hands on your personal information could accumulate debts of $50,000 or more without you even realizing it. You may be unable to land work, all because someone pretended to be you and spent a bunch of money. In the meantime, your credit score could be ruined, and you could find yourself without a way to buy a place to live or a car.

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What can one do to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft or credit theft? Following are a few simple tips that might help:

• Inspect your credit report a couple of times a year. You can get one credit report for no charge per year from each of the credit bureaus, which will help you to check your credit history every four months, if you like. You can obtain a copy of your credit record for no charge at annualcreditreport.com. Look over your credit report in detail to see if there is any information there that may be unknown to you - a recent charge card or home loan or automobile loan or any one of a number of financial transactions that someone may have conducted in your name. If your report contains unusual or fraudulent entries, contact the police and the credit bureau immediately.
   

• You will seldom need your Social Security card as many, if not most adults never show the card to anyone. Keep your Social Security card in a protected place and keep it there. Do not carry your Social Security card with you; if you misplace it, the information on it might be useful to a thief.
• If a stranger asks you for your Social Security number, ask if providing it is really necessary. A great number of businesses will ask for a Social Security number as a matter of procedure, but will not actually use it for anything.
• Requesting personal or financial information by e-mail messages is a common ploy, known as phishing, that is calculated to steal your personal information. Don't provide personal information to anyone or any individual that sends you electronic mail inquiring about it. It's Fine to provide your charge card number to an online merchant if you have decided to buy something. Do not give out personal financial information over the Internet unless you commenced the transaction.
• Destroy, using a shredder, any financial documents that you no longer need. Shred all of those convenience checks that your charge card company sends you every month and any preapproved charge card advertisements you may receive in the mail. "If you don't want it, shred it" is a wise philosophy.
• Look out for your mail, such as incoming and outgoing letters. Thieves often steal mail out of mailboxes to obtain personal information.

A bit of paying attention can go a long way towards avoiding financial crimes, and it's a lot less trouble than working your way out of the trouble you will come across should a thief make off with your financial information. It helps to be cautious.