Shred Everything- Every credit card advertisements you receive in the mail should be shredded. But they are not the only things you should shred. Anything that has your name and address on it should also be shredded. Don't forget to shred the labels on magazines you receive, they often have your account numbers printed on them.
Check Your Credit Report- The federal government has passed a law that allows you to receive a free credit report for each of the three credit bureaus once a year. Though this is a good start I believe you should go ahead a check it every three months even though you have to pay for the additional checks yourself. A lot of damage can be done very quickly.
Credit Monitoring Services-There is a lot of companies that you can sign up with that will monitor your credit report for you. They will give you notices, usually through emails that notify you if there are any changes to your report, like someone pulling your credit report, or changing your address. There is a monthly fee associated with these services.
Opt Out Option- If you look at the back of any credit card offer that you receive, you will see there is an opt out option you can sign up for. What this does is notifies the three credit bureaus that you are no longer interested in receiving these types of offers in the mail. It is fast and easy to do and you can either opt out for life or for just five years. It takes a few weeks before you see a complete reduction in your offers. This is very helpful as you will have less mail to shred and no one can steal the offers out of your mailbox.
Freeze Your Credit-This option is not available in all states yet, but what it does is puts a complete freeze on your credit report. No one will be able to run a credit check on you-period. The only down fall to this option is if you need to have a credit check you will have to notify them in advance to unfreeze your report. There is also a small fee for each time you freeze and unfreeze your report.
If you become a victim of identify theft, it can be devastating. It will literally take years to fix the damage done by the thieves. Hopefully, these tips will be very useful for you. And remember the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
We are all potential victims for the crime. Chances are, you know someone who has not taken the proper steps in protecting themselves against identity theft. Don't let that someone be you.
Often, the mail leaves the average consumer at a disadvantage. All those papers in envelopes might be necessary bills and/or pre-approved offers that make you think someone is taking notice of your hard-earned credit rating, but it could be the wrong people paying attention.
Mail can come from thieves looking to steal your personal information and make you the victim of identity theft. The best way to minimize this danger and prevent identity theft from happening to you is to keep a close eye on the routine times your bills are mailed, as well as minimize the amount of information you receive in the mail.
However, knowledge of the kinds of information that come from the postal worker is the best weapon against Identity Theft.
Telephone and other utility bills always display customer addresses, account numbers, and telephone numbers. All this information can be useful to an identity thief, as can the information stolen from a driver's license renewal or monthly credit card statement. Remember one of the best rules to prevent identity theft: what you throw away can hurt you.
The savvy consumer can also prevent identity theft by keeping a watchful eye on bank statements that come through the mail. These often include your name, address, bank name, contact information, account number and even type of account. All this information is dangerous in the wrong hands.
Pre-approved credit card offers also give would-be thieves the upper hand, and paycheck stubs from direct deposits give away your employer's name and address as well. Sometimes, even your pay rate and social security number will be included on the stub. Rather than crumple these documents and throw them away, invest in a shredder to fight against identity theft.
"Dumpster Diving" is a common practice of thieves collecting information. This requires them to scrounge through your last night's leftovers in the garbage in hopes to find that one golden nugget: your bank statement, your credit care receipts, or anything that has anything personal about you.
So beware, do your due diligence against identity theft, and shred anything that has information about you. If someone is diving in your dumpster, all they should find are food scraps.
Both Davet & Mike Selvon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Davet has sinced written about articles on various topics from Information Technology, Entertainment Guide and Travel and Leisure. David Tanguay is dedicated in helping individuals & businesses get out of debt. To compare hundreds of credit card offers & rates please visit a. Davet's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Mike Selvon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Camping, Allergies and Personal Desktop. Get all the information you need to protect yourself from Mike Selvon's. Mike Selvon's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.