Identity Theft Prevention: Free Prevention Guide Against Identity Theft

Identity Theft Prevention...

So Who's Peeping in Your Windows?

Criminals who committ identity theft have no scruples! They will peep into your bedroom, they will steal your mail, they will download your computer files, they will steal your identity. They are the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth!

So how do we fight them? Prevention through the protection of your vital personal information. For example, when you give your credit card to a retail clerk or a waitress at a restaurant to pay for your bill, you expect that information to be confidential. Unfortunately, law enforcement has actually busted identity theft crime rings that will place "informants" into well respected establishments just to get your information. As they take your card to swipe it through their employer's (your merchant's) zon, they also have their own personal recording device called "skimmers" which they swipe. Your information is now in their possession to be sold to the highest bidder.

How do you combat that? Well, unless you want to look like a paranoid schizophrenic and demand that your credit card never leaves your sight, there's not much you can do. However, through professional monitoring services like Identity Guard's CreditProtectX Program and Fair Isaac's: My Fico monitoring service, you can personally monitor those who are asking for your personal information or trying to open new accounts and possibly thwart attempts at taking over your identity. Either of those programs will give you additional monitoring and prevention security, and both are industry leaders. Having the ability to monitor your credit is a prerequisite to every identity theft personal security prevention plan. But it doesn't end there, or that easily...

More On Credit Cards

The clerks and waitresses that possess credit card "skimmers" are the high-end criminals. They can actually take that recorded information and make a cloned identical copy (magnetic stripe and all) of your credit card. They simply add their own signature (of your name) and picture if necessary.

But the majority of information thieves use less sophisticated tools--a simple pen and paper. Most retail establishments will keep your personal information such as phone number and address on file. And, of course since the advent of the internet and it's "People Search" capabilities , almost everyone can find out someone's current address. So, once they possess your name, credit card number and address, they will call the credit card company claiming you have moved and request a change of billing address. Once that is completed, they will then call the credit card company in a few weeks and notify them that the credit card has been lost. The card company will then send the replacement card to the new address.

NOTE:: U.S. Search not only provides "People Search" capabilites, but also provides assistance in finding out if anyone is using your personal identification... Click Here for your personal identity theft search.

The "skimmers" work much quicker than the account takeover criminals, but both can be devastating to their victims. Skimmers will usually build up large charges against the card in the first week or two of possession, and then discard it and go to another--often leaving behind tens of thousands of dollars of debt. Account takeover criminals have to show more tenacity to victimize you, but they end up doing the most damage financially. In fact, they may even be able to get to more of your financial information such as Social Security and checking account numbers from the information you originally supplied the credit card company. And, despite the fact that credit card companies are continually instituting newer, more sophisticated prevention programs (they sustain the largest losses), credit card theft is still on the rise.

Be Aware & Protective

Be aware of who has access to your credit card and number. Watch as clerks and wait staffs take your information and observe any unusual behavior. If the receipt comes back with the entire number printed, scratch out all but the last 4 numbers. Most merchants zons have already converted to printing just the last 4 numbers, but there's always a who few which haven't gotten onto the bandwagon yet. So be observant. Join a monitoring service like MyFico or Identity Guard's CreditProtectX Program . Protect your mail. Thieves will steal incoming and outgoing mail to get your financial personal information, particularly credit card bills and offers. It would be advisable to stop the paper trail altogether and do your bill paying online with your credit card company. Although the internet scares many people and we will discuss that later on in this Prevention Guide , it's normally much more secure and safer than leaving a paper trail behind that an identity theft criminal can easily steal.

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