We’ve all heard the horror stories about identity theft, but is it really likely to happen to you? According to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, everyone has a chance of becoming a victim. You can greatly decrease the risks by following a few simple tactics to make yourself virtually identity theft proof.
It’s just common sense that you shouldn’t carry around your social security card or bank PIN number in your wallet, and that you should lock up or shred any financially sensitive documents like credit card or bank statements. Yet, criminals are still able to gain access to these key pieces of personal identifying information and use them for their own illegal gain. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of identity theft does not start online. It comes from stolen mail, dumpster diving, and lost or stolen wallets.

Armed with your personal information (your name, address, birth date, etc.), the thief can commit check or credit card fraud, and even obtain a loan in your name. When the financial institution checks the personal information against the data at a national credit bureau, it sees no problem. The data the thief provided matches the official records.
Here’s how you can defend against […]

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