We have all heard of it. But we all think that we are invincible to it. Identity theft!
What is it? It refers to the preparatory phase of acquiring and collecting personal information of others for criminal purposes.
There are a wide range of identity theft technologies, such as trash can diving and mail theft, as well as more sophisticated solutions.
If your identity is stolen, do you have a plan to mitigate damages? If not, you should at least bookmark this to prevent it from being needed in the future.
Identity thieves are looking for the following information:
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• full name
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• date of birth
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• Social Security Number
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• Complete address
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•Mother's Maiden Name
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• Username and password for the online service
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• Driver's license number
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• Personal Identification Number [PIN]
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• Credit card information [number printed on the signature panel, expiration date and last three digits]
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•Bank account
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• Signature
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• Passport number
There are steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft, and you can take steps to reduce the damage and help bring the thief to justice.
Here are 5 things you can do now to protect yourself:
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1. Do not sign on the back of the credit card. Instead, enter "ID of the photo you need." '
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2. When you write a check for a credit card account, do not place the full account on the ' For' line. Instead, just enter the last four digits. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who may be processing a check when passing through all check processing channels cannot access it.
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3. Place your work phone # on the check instead of the home phone. If you have a PO Box, please use that mailbox instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, please use your work address. Never print a SIN on a check. [DUH!] You can add it if necessary. But if you print it out, anyone can get it.
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4. Place the contents of the wallet on the photocopier. Execute each license, credit card, etc. on both sides. You will know what's in your wallet and all the accounts and phone numbers you want to call and cancel. Keep copies in a safe place.
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5. When traveling abroad, please bring a copy of your passport. We have all heard horror stories about the theft of names, addresses, social security numbers, credit cards, etc...
If your identity has not been stolen, what can you expect to happen?
Here are some things they can do:
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1. Access your bank account
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2. Open a new bank account
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3. Transfer bank balance
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4. Apply for a loan, credit card
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5. Shopping
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6. Buy mobile phone package
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7. Retail outlet approved credit line
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8. Access your driving record and change your information online
If you are a victim, take the following steps immediately:
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1. Cancel your credit card immediately. But the key is to have a toll-free number and your card number so you know what to do. Keep those places where you can find them. This is why we copied them [see above]. Please call your local bank/financial institution.
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2. Immediately submit a police report in the case of your credit card and other stolen cases. This proves your diligent credit provider, which is the first step [if any] of the survey.
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But perhaps the most important thing here is:
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3. Call the national credit reporting company immediately. Ask them to issue a fraud alert on your name and credit report. Alerts mean that any company that checks your credit card knows that your information has been stolen and they must contact you by phone to authorize a new credit line.
Here are the numbers from two national credit bureaus:
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1.] Equifax: 1-800-465-7166
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2.] TransUnion Canada: 1-877-525-3823
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3. Order your credit report for free from each national credit reporting company.
Have you ever been a victim of identity theft? Tell us your story, maybe others can learn from what you do or don't do.
Orignal From: How identity theft protects yourself from damage and mitigates its damage
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