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Prevent Identity Theft
How Can I Prevent Identity Theft ?
Not only is it very important to learn about various kinds of consumer fraud, for instance identity theft, but also ways to
prevent identity theft from happening. Sadly, many individuals
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rarely make any effort to prevent identity theft from occurring
in their life. They feel that they are not susceptible to becoming a possible victim of identity theft and never take the
time to closely monitor their finances or observe their credit report. Unfortunately, it is often these same careless individuals
that become victims of this crime and later teach others how to prevent identity theft in their own lives.
Attempting to prevent identity theft can be very difficult, and at times, an impossible task. With all the careless
shuffling of private information between workplaces, and lax credit industry practices, identity theft has become a very easy
crime for many to commit. Recent studies have shown that up to 70 percent of all identity theft cases start in the
workplace, perpetrated by a co-worker, boss or business owner. In 25 percent of reported identity theft cases, the victims
personally know the individuals that steal their information. Recent identity theft statistics show us that in most of these cases, the perpetrator is
often an immediate family member or someone who lives in your home. This makes it a very hard task to prevent identity theft from
occurring in your life. We never want to speculate or become too cautious around our close family members.The following list are
some practices you can implement to help prevent identity theft from ever happening:
1. Never hand out your social security number, debit or credit card information to anyone over the phone, email, or
regular mail unless you have personally contacted them and they are a reputable service. Many identity thieves contact
victims using phone scams that suggest that the victim was chosen winner of a particular sweepstakes and they need their
private information to solidify the win and receive the earnings. This is a very common and successful tactic employed by
identity thieves and one you should know about to minimize or prevent identity theft from happening.
2. When shopping online, you should always use credit cards and never use debit cards. If you use a credit card, there
is better protection for any possible case of identity fraud. Most credit card companies offer services, like identity theft insurance , to most of their applicants.
3. Never toss your credit card receipts in a public trash container, but always keep them with you in your wallet or any
other safe place. While shopping, your should always make sure that after every purchase you place the receipt directly
into your wallet and never in your shopping bag.
4. Monitor your credit report on a consistent basis, at least once a year for any incongruent information and wrong
accounts that have been opened under your identity. As of September 1, 2005, everyone in the United States has access to
one free credit report each year by the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Monitoring your credit
report is the best thing you can do to prevent identity theft from happening.
Ways To order your free annual credit report:
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By telephone: (877) 322-8228
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Online: www.annualcreditreport.com
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To send by mail, print out the order form:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf
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