9 ways to outwit an identity thief

Identity theft statistics are shocking, to say the least. And it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. But there is no need for you to become a statistic. Here’s what you can do to prevent identity theft.

1. If your mailbox doesn’t already have a lock, put it on.

If you’ve recently had official letters missing from your mailbox, chances are someone has stolen them to find out about you and possibly assume your identity. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, consider yourself lucky and put the lock on the mailbox anyway.

2. Consider renting a PO Box at your local post office. Use it as a postal address for most or all mail. This will be particularly useful when you are away for a few days, or if no one is home for most of the day.

3. Invest in a good paper shredder, preferably the cross-cut type.

You should never tear up important documents. But what may not be so obvious is that the preloaded offers you receive from banks, credit card companies, insurance companies and the like also contain sensitive details about you that would be of interest to identity thieves. Shred all of this before throwing it away.

4. Never give financial details over the phone unless you initiate the call.

The most common scenario: someone calls you pretending to be from a local charity. You agree to donate a small amount to a “good cause.” Suspecting nothing, you give them your credit card details over the phone and the rest, as they say, is history. The next time you get your credit card statement, it will be full of unauthorized transactions.

Do you give them credit card numbers over the phone? Never! Ask them to mail you some brochures or get their phone number so you can verify they are who they say they are before donating money.

Another scenario: someone calls you “from a local bank”. All they want to do is verify your financial details. Again, I don’t care what they tell you, don’t do it. Ask them to leave their name and contact number so you can call them back. Next, get your local bank’s phone number from a phone book and call the bank (don’t use the number they gave you, as thieves may be waiting on the other end). Ask the people at the bank if someone was trying to reach you. You may find out that they know nothing about it! The fact is that your bank already has all the details it needs about you, in the vast majority of cases.

5. A fake “charity worker” knocking on your door? He or she may even have an authentic-looking ID. What is your job? Well, if you give them a little change, then this is all you’ve lost. But if you donate the money with your credit card, you’ve just become a victim of identity fraud.

Of course, many times a true charity worker will knock on your door. What do you do if you really want to help? Ask them to leave you a brochure, so you can read it when it’s a little more convenient. Or ask them for a phone number and the name of the charity so you can call them. If it turns out to be genuine, you can always send them the money later.

6. Consider changing your phone number to a silent number. This will greatly minimize the number of calls you receive from both telemarketers and identity thieves. There are also other advantages to having a silent number. Generally, a silent number tends to increase your privacy.

7. Never store your PIN numbers or passwords near your plastic cards or account details.

Yes, I know. You want to keep your PIN number close to your plastic card, in case you forget it. You can even disguise it as another number. Guess what. If a thief gets hold of your wallet, he will try whatever number he can find on it to steal the money from your plastic card account. True, after a few unsuccessful attempts, the account usually gets locked. But even that would make you uncomfortable, to say the least. And why risk losing your hard-earned money?

8. Don’t use credit cards at restaurants or other places where your credit card might be out of sight for even a minute. Before you know it, thieves could scan your card and use it to purchase all kinds of products, especially through phone purchases, mail order, and online purchases.

9. And finally, there is a huge and growing topic of identity theft on the Internet. You can read our article on Internet identity theft at www.credit-report-az.com/internet-identity-theft.html.

Obviously we don’t cover everything here. But I hope this article has opened your eyes to some simple, common sense ways to prevent someone from stealing your identity and/or your money.

Will it guarantee that you are never a victim? No, but it will go a long way in making a thief’s life very difficult. Usually if you make life difficult for them, they will move on to an easier target.

There is one more thing you should seriously consider. Check your credit report regularly. It’s not uncommon for an identity thief to apply for a loan or credit card in her name. Of course, they have no intention of ever returning it. All other issues aside, this will affect your credit rating and borrowing capacity for years to come unless you clean it up quickly.

There are affordable services available that will monitor your credit files throughout the year and notify you the moment anything changes in your credit file. Or maybe you prefer to review your credit report yourself every few months.

Oh, and those shocking stats I mentioned earlier? According to recent studies, up to 7,000,000 people were victims of identity theft in the last 12 months. That’s over 19,000 people a day. Don’t become a statistic! Do something about it today.