Prevent Identity Theft

Almost everyone today has heard of identity theft, but most victims will agree they did not give a lot of thought to it until it happened to them. There are some real horror stories out there about the problems it caused in their lives once it did happen. The cost alone to have credit restored can be well over $1000.00 not to mention the time it will take, sometimes years before your credit gets back to normal. Now, one would think since your not the cause for things going wrong, why the big problem? It seems the three major reporting companies need many things resolved before this can happen. I have always thought this to be unfair. You know who you are, right? Then why not go after the bad guys instead of making an honest person feel as though they have done something wrong.

Being a victim can cause many different things to happen. Ones credit can be interrupted in such things as, credit cards, a mortgage, car loan, and anything else that has to do with credit. There have even been cases where the victim has been arrested. So you can easily see why protecting yourself from identity theft is so important. Stopping it before it happens should be everyone's main concern. Having said all of that, how do we start?

There are several things you should do right now, if you do not have a paper shredder that might be a good place to start. Be sure you shred any and every thing that is not necessary to keep for future reference. Tearing things into small pieces is not good enough. Many identity thieves have the time and patience to piece things back together to find out who you are. The next thing is to never throw envelopes away that might have your name and address on them, always remove this information first and be sure to shred it. Another thing is your mail box, if you live in a rural area or anywhere there might be a chance of your mail being exposed to anyone but yourself. Remember identity thieves only have one thing in mind when stealing your mail, which is to find out as much about you as possible. Always cut any expired credit cards into very tiny pieces before putting them in the trash. Always guard your credit card or ATM card numbers when using the ATM machines. Whenever you use your cards for in store purchase, be sure to ask the clerk for the carbon copy of your receipt. Always report any lost or stolen credit cards as soon as you realize they are gone, do not wait until the next day. It will also help to monitor your credit report as often as you can to look for anything out of the ordinary. With all of these things, and others you might think of, you could fall victim to identity theft. Maybe with some help from all of us in protecting ourselves, things can get better for everyone. And maybe, just maybe, the card companies will go after the real crooks instead of making life hard for the honest people.

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