Identity theft is a crime that has been around for many years. You used to be able to protect yourself a little better, by performing tasks such as shredding your old bills and financial information before you put them in the trash. It is not that simple today. Computers and the internet have made it much easier for someone to steal your identity and ruin your life.
One of the most common ways thieves used to perform identity theft was to go through their victims’ mail and trash. In order to commit identity theft, a person needs important information about you, such as your birthday and your social security number. These items can be easily obtained from garbage such as old bank statements and credit card bills that have been paid and discarded. However, it is no longer necessary to go dumpster diving in order to commit identity theft successfully. Thieves are now using the internet to obtain all the information they need in order to snatch your identity right from out from under you.
One way to protect yourself against identity theft is to closely monitor your credit report. There are many different websites that you can sign up for that will send you notification any time your credit score changes. There are often small fees associated with these services, but the fees are usually minimal.
In addition, you should never enter your credit card information into a website that is not secure. If you are unsure of the websites security, do not do it. This is one way hackers are able to steal your financial information and commit identity theft. You must be sure the website is operating under a secure server before you enter any type of personal information on it.
Identity theft is a crime that can happen to any one of us. There are steps you can take to make sure you are minimizing your chances of that happening. With the new age of computers and computer hackers, it has become much more likely to become a victim of identity theft.
