Identity Theft: Frightening Realities and How to Protect Yourself

I felt the need to expand on a topic I have written briefly about before here in an attempt to scare you enough to take action to protect yourself. Watching an MSNBC documentary on credit card theft recently, I felt compelled to relay the following. So if you think you can't afford the expense of a Credit Protection Service, this might help you locate $15 per month so you can.

With the help of a major credit card issuer, the host of the documentary obtained a credit card. A professional hacker offered this new card holder's ID for sale online. In less than one minute, ID thieves bought his stolen information and subsequently made purchases in 16 different countries over the next 1 minute and 10 seconds.

Worried yet?

Need A Line Of Credit?

Do you have an equity line of credit on the home you live in? Do you want one?

Always check your monthly bank statements, credit cards, personal loans, mortgage statements. You may already have a newly established line of credit. As a matter of fact, you may even own more homes than you realize, and you're in default on all of them. You most likely put your own residence up as collateral on said new mortgages and anytime now you're going into foreclosure. Do you know who to call and what to do when you find this out?

Whilst most banks do have certain verification processes in place to ensure you are indeed the person authorizing such transactions, there are those which slip through the cracks. As soon as the banks upgrade to more sophisticated systems of checking the identity of financial transactions, thieves also upgrade the methods they use to make purchases which do not raise any suspicion. You could go for up to one month before you even realize any of this is happening to you, but now you're facing bankruptcy, homelessness, legal fees and court appearances, felony charges or worse. I have heard a story where someone was killed in an accident, unintentionally. As it would happen, the person for whom a warrant was issued was not the person who was at the scene, but is now facing many years in jail. If you are not scared enough now to seek advice on how to protect yourself, you need read no further.

Easy Online Bill Paying, Or Not:

Paying your bills online is as easy as the click of a button. You get the bill, you go to your secure payment website, and you know it is because you see the padlock icon, you enter the relevant information and hit that button and you hand over a major part of your life to someone in a country you've never even heard of. Yes, online bill paying is very simple, for all of us.

While this does not always happen, it does happen to millions of people every minute of the day. I personally prefer to use the telephone to make credit card payments. Not because I don't have protection on my computer, but because there are also people who make their living from cracking these types of security systems. They know how to do it, they get paid for doing it from other thieves and they steal identities along the way as bonus payments for their hard work.

Remember The Mailbox?

While the humble frontyard mailbox can also be a target for identity thieves, remember what it was put there for in the first place and how you used to use it. Using regular snail mail to send payments for your credit cards and other financial obligations shouldn't be a thing of the past. If you're at home through the day, check what time your mail person comes by and greet them to hand them your outbound mail. If you're concerned someone may get to your personal information, again, use your telephone to make your payment or do it in person. It may be a longer day out when grocery shopping, but stopping by the bank on your way home, or calling in to the local Post Office to see your check drop into the mailbox will give you huge piece of mind. Try speaking with your bank manager and telling him or her of your concerns. They may be able to offer options to protect yourself which you were unaware of. Don't be too worried that this will happen to you, be worried that it can. Your bank manager is there to assist you and they do not want you to become a victim anymore than you do.

Remember, too, it's not just your future at risk. The safety of your child's information and their financial future, education and employment options can be just as easily jeopardized.