We’ve all heard the warnings. Everywhere we turn, we’re cautioned to guard our personal information to protect our identities and our good credit. Yet, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center, 10 million people each year—that’s 19 people each minute!—become victims of identity theft.
Loss due to identity theft was estimated at $56.6 billion in 2005. That doesn’t include the time spent by victims of ID theft to reclaim their identities and get their credit records back in good standing—estimated at an average 330 hours per victim over a period of months or even years. And many victims report that even after all that work, they are still trying to get negative information removed from their credit reports.
Identity theft is a crime with serious consequences, and it’s clear that the thieves are the bad guys. But every day, criminals find free access to the personal information of people who wouldn’t dream of leaving their homes unlocked or leaving the keys in their cars. So how do people leave themselves open to preventable crimes like identity theft?
Here are 11 of the most frequent ways good, intelligent—and sometimes careless—people become victims of identity theft. If you recognize your own behavior in this list, you may be well on your way to joining their ranks.
- Freely share your Social Security number. Your SSN is the most critical link to all of your financial information, tax records, credit files, etc. Print your SSN and your driver’s license number on your personal checks if you really want to circulate them.
- Don’t protect your personal identification numbers (PIN). Use the same PIN number for all your accounts, and use easy-to-guess passwords, like your birthday or telephone number. Then keep them in your in your wallet. If your wallet is lost or stolen, unsavory characters can wipe out your accounts before you discover that your information is missing.
- Dispose of bank and credit card statements without first destroying them. After all, shredders cost money, and trash pickers love the easy access to your account numbers.
- Fail to thoroughly examine your credit card bills. Just pay the bill, and don’t worry about whether you actually purchased the items that have been charged to your account.
- Ignore your credit report, even though you’re entitled to obtain a free copy (www.annualcreditreport.com) every year, and more often under certain circumstances. If you don’t look at your credit report, rip-off artists can open new accounts in your name and use them freely until the creditors come looking for you.
- Expect something for nothing. Ignore the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” You’ll be an outstanding target for phishing scams and other get-rich-quick come-ons.
- Keep all of your credit cards in your wallet—and don’t keep copies. It will be much harder for you to report lost or stolen cards, and thieves will run
up more charges than if you carry only one or two cards with you. - Pay all your bills by mail, and leave the payments in your home mail box for pickup by your mail carrier. If you have payments deducted from your checking account or mail them at the drop slot in the Post Office, thieves have a much harder time getting their hands on them.
- Leave mail unattended in your home mail box while you’re out of town. This is a favorite of con artists, especially if you get lots of pre-approved credit offers. And by the way, continue to accept those pre-approved credit offers. If you call 888-567-8688 to decline them, you’ll take away one of the easiest ways for the bad guys to steal your identity. Not to mention the fact that you’ll halt unnecessary inquiries into your credit file.
- Don’t report late bills or statements. After all, how can you be sure they’ve fallen into the hands of criminals?
- Fail to install firewall or anti-virus software on your computer. You have a ton of personal information stored on your computer, and cyber thieves love the opportunity to hack it.
Seriously, no one wants to have their identity stolen, but it can happen to anyone. Use these tips to check your personal security behavior, and you’ll dramatically reduce your risk of becoming a victim.
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