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Electronic identity theft is rampant but there are some important steps that every consumer can take to safeguard their identity. News for Public Officials found the six things top experts say you should do, or at least know about, to protect yourself and your family from becoming a victim of identity theft.
- Change your passwords monthly: Do you bank online? Or
store personal information on your laptop? If so, it would be
wise to change your password at least once a month and try to
select passwords that will not be obvious to potential hackers
(birthday, anniversary, pet name, etc.).
Password management programs like MySecurityVault PRO
Make it easy to manage and encrypt your passwords, files, and other personal information.
- Take control -- Freeze your credit: Experts agree the
most important thing you can do to protect yourself from the
most common types of identity fraud is to freeze your credit.
According to an independent study by Javelin Research, "The types of credit monitoring services offered by various creditors and the credit reporting agencies -simply don't work".
"To prevent Identity theft, LifeLock clearly trumps credit monitoring", the report said.
After investigating other services, Bobby Jo Harris, a former chief of police in a major city and identity theft victim himself chose LifeLock to protect his family from further attack. To learn more about LifeLock Click Here
There are several ways you can go about freezing your credit including doing it yourself but financial expert Suze Orman recommends IDFreeze as the easiest and least time consuming. Click Here
to learn more about IDFreeze.
- Beware of phishing scams: Scam artists "phish" for
victims by pretending to be banks, stores or government
agencies. They do this over the phone, in emails and in the
regular mail. Don't give out your personal information, unless
you made the contact. Don't respond to a request to verify your
account number or password. Legitimate companies do not request
this kind of information in this way.
- Protect your computer from spyware and viruses:
Spyware programs can collect many different types of personal
information about you like passwords and credit card numbers.
Experts recommend using using integrated firewall, virus and spyware protection software that
you update regularly like Trend Micro Internet Security 2007
or
Platinum Internet Security 2007
to stay ahead of the criminals
- Remove document images from online public records:
Often, criminals can find everything they need to steal
your identity on government websites. The documents include real
estate, tax and judicial records. You should contact your local
officials and ask them to remove your documents immediately.
FindMyID.com offers a free service to help consumers learn what the "public" documents reveal about you.
- Erase Data Before Getting Rid of Your Computer
Your computer has traces of your personal information. Identity thieves target discarded computers to look for hard drive data that has not been erased. Most experts suggest that computer users need to securely and permanently erase data from a hard drive before selling or discarding old computers. You can do this by either physically destroying the drive or using a software utility to thoroughly overwrite all data. Experts at the U.S. Department of Defense have approved WipeDrive for this purpose.