March 6, 2007

Credit Issues - Identity Theft gives rise to Credit Problems, 10 Steps to Protect yourself

Tip! Practice computer safety. The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from online identity theft is to install firewall software on your computer.

In the past two weeks, I have read three different articles on identity theft in various ways. The VA had a data leak after an analyst took home a laptop with electron data containing names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of 26.5 million veterans. This is certainly enough information for identity thieves to obtain new accounts using stolen data.

Tip! Ask your financial institutions to add extra identity theft protection to your account.

A 45 year old woman in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey got a call from her credit card company asking if she purchased thousands of dollars on Ebay using her credit cards. Fortunately, the credit card company caught this activity in time before she could have serious problems straightening out her credit.

Credit card fraud and identity theft are on the rise in the nation. You need to take steps to protect your information. Checking your credit card statements regularly will turn up problems immediately. The pattern of abuse seems to be toward charging smaller amounts on credit cards, not necessarily maxing out the card. This makes detection harder at the point of sale.

Tip! Manage your personal information cautiously and with a new awareness that identity theft can occur anytime anywhere and when you least expect it.

Take care when using your cards. Steps to take to protection yourself:

1. Take the copies and the excess paper with you.
2. Ask the clerk to return your card as soon as they are finished swiping it.
3. Destroy all outdated and cancelled credit cards.
4. Don’t use pin numbers in public areas.
5. If you are using an ATM be careful no one can see what you put into the machine.
6. Obtain your free annual credit reports at various times during the year and check the information carefully.
7. Don’t give out personal information over the phone, thru the mail or over the Internet unless you started the action.
8. No one should call you on the phone and ask any personal information including the phone company, credit card companies, your lenders etc.
9. Don’t ever give out your Social Security number.
10. Be alert when using your personal information in any form.

Tip! To protect your customers’ privacy and prevent identity theft. Recent news coverage about the loss of customer information by large corporations underscores the potential risks of all businesses, including lawsuits and bad publicity.

A little care now will go a long way toward protecting valuable information and your credit rating.

Nancy Woodward is an Accountant and Real Estate Professional affiliated with “The Dream Team. Visit online RealEstateLady and MortgageLoan.

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