Keep Yourself Safe from Identity Theft with These Tips

By Mark Mahaffey


Did you know that you could be the next victim of identity theft? Unless you take action to keep yourself safe, identity theft could happen to you. Crooks love getting their hands on private financial information, and their methods for doing so are becoming very sophisticated. You can protect yourself from identity theft by learning about their tactics and taking measures to out think them.

The convenience of using ATM's comes with a price. Thieves have been known to put out-of-order signs on ATM's, and then set up a fake ATM nearby. These fake ATM's are equipped with 'skimmers,' which read information from your debit or credit card as you scan it. Be sure the ATM you are using is familiar and legitimate.

Do you carry your debit card pin number with you? Some people do; it is easy to forget that number. However, carrying it with you is dangerous, because if someone steals your wallet, they can easily use your debit card because the pin number is included. Write the number in code if can't memorize it, so that if anyone else sees it, they cannot decipher it. Also, when you type your pin number into a key pay, shield the pad with your hand so others cannot see what you are typing.

When you fill up with gas for your car, do not throw your receipt away at the gas station. Doing so leaves a paper trail that could lead someone to your financial information. Rather, take your receipt home with you and dispose of it by shredding or burning.

Someone may be watching every keystroke you make on your computer. Keyloggers can be either hardware devices or software programs, but their function is the same: to log or record each keystroke made on a given computer.

There are some good uses of keylogging, such as watching over children's computer habits. But crooks can install the software on your computer when you are not aware of it and then steal your identity.




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