13 Effective Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

                              

Equifax, one of the largest credit bureau agencies in the U.S. experienced a data breach on July 29, 2017 but did not notify the media and its customers until one and a half months later. The data breach affected 143 million Americans.

Equifax collects data from various sources such as credit card companies, banks, retailers, and lenders. Public records are not automatically reported on a consumer’s credit report. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion purchases public records and reports the data on consumers credit reports.

If you never checked or occasionally checked your bank statements, credit reports and other financial statements, the Equifax data breach should motivate you to start verifying your account on a regular basis.  

Identity thieves are always thinking of new ways to steal your personal information.  Some people become victims of identity theft even though their credit card and debit card is still in their possession.  There are sites that let thieves buy hundreds of stolen credit card numbers at a time.  Here are 13 effective ways to prevent becoming a victim of identity theft:

1. Credit. Order your credit reports at annualcreditreport.com at least once a year and verify all information is correct. Set a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit reports for Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
2. Mail. Leave mail and other personal papers at home and store in a safe place. Check your mailbox regularly, hold mail when going out of town.
3. Trash. Shred personal information and mix in with other trash before throwing out garbage.
4. Bank. Don’t use an ATM in a secluded area. Create PINs that cannot easily be guessed. Create a PIN or password to access your account.
5. Cash. Pay for items with cash as much as possible and use credit cards for emergencies only.
6. Buy a sleeve: Purchase a credit card sleeve that blocks RFID transmission (skimming) to reduce the chance of having your credit card skimmed while walking down the street.
7. Virus Protection. Install paid virus protection on your computer and smartphone.  Some popular virus software for pc’s are Symantec, Norton Utilities and McAfee. Popular software for smartphones are Symantec, Kaspersky and F-secure.  Also use email protection to minimize spoof emails such as Spam Assassin, Barracuda or Mailwasher.
8. Reconcile. Reconcile financial accounts daily or monthly.
9. GPS.  Reduce using GPS on your cell phone. If satellite can track your location so can thieves.
10. Online.  Only shop at well-known website such as Amazon, eBay or Yahoo.com.  Don’t purchase items from third party sellers. Shop online at secure websites that use https or shttp. Call or visit the company website to learn about their security policies and the measures taken to protect consumer information.
11. Smartphones. Use mobile banking and online banking with caution. Don’t store personal information on your cell phone or make transactions because you don’t know if you information is secure.
12. Downloading.  Avoid downloading from your smartphone and your computer.  Download only from trusted websites. Avoid using free software or shareware especially those on social media websites.
13. Digital footprint. Reduce your digital footprint to limit your exposure to identity theft. Start by unsubscribing from newsletters, blogs and other sites that have store your personal information such as name, address, DOB, phone number or email address.