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Identity Theft paranoia
I recently watched a movie called Candy that scared me just how easy identity theft is. The main character (Heath Ledger) stole a wallet then contacted the person impersonating the bank and managed to get all their details!! I'm a bit paranoid now that it could happen to me. I guess you do really have to be careful now with all this kind of stuff. I really don't know how to prevent it though. I'm already in debt as it is, I don't think i could deal with someone else making my debt bigger.
Yes it can certainly be something to think about
Yes it can certainly be something to think about. Tear up all the mail you want to throw away that you get. Sometimes people have even went as far as searching through other peoples trash for information about them. Be careful and never give our your personal information to anyone.
Identity theft is one of the
Identity theft is one of the biggest growing industries and it is scary just how simple it is for people to get their hands on your identity. Shredding personal documents, storing safely valuable documents and not disclosing personal info to strangers is a start but we all have to be very careful.
I think a lot of that is
I think a lot of that is about common sense though Shelley. If any of your cards go missing or are stolen you should report them immediately. Empty your mailbox daily so you know no one is stealing your mail, and check your balances online frequently. If you use online banking, make sure you always log out properly and avoid logging on shared computers and internet cafes. Banks have daily withdrawal limits for a reason and Identity Thief is one of them. You do hear about a lot of people getting ripped off by professionals who copy cards and so forth but I think it wouldn't happen as much if we all were more careful with our credit cards!
Yes thats true Andy, but
Yes thats true Andy, but sometimes no matter how careful you are it can still happen and I think thats because of technology. I've heard so many cases in which it has just completely been out the victims control. I've been conscious of identity theft ever since I saw that Sandra Bullock movie, The Net... and that came out at a time when identity theft hadn't even kicked off yet. And its not just about the money either, its such a violation of privacy and time consuming in terms of sorting it all out.
Why target me?
If you don't have much money in the bank, overextended credit cards, are unemployed...would I be a target for identity theft? Seems to be like my profile wouldn't really be worth the effort. Any comments?
i worry about identity theft
i worry about identity theft alot i do alot of banking online and worry that someone will be able to get hold of my information and us it does anybody have any good tips on how to stop this from happening and a safe and secure way of making sure my identity is as safe as i can get it ty
Safe
I watched a business type informational show not long ago that reassured viewers that most personal information handed out to reputable companies via the internet is much safer than writing a check at the grocery store. Because of things like verisign and others it's almost impossible to have a hacker get into your personal information. I'm sure there are the few that this happened to, but this would seem to be the rare incident. Generally, we very safe. I hope this eases your mind a little/
simple safety checks
Too keep identity theft at bay you should always make sure any bank statements you may have or get sent are disposed of correctly. You can buy little paper shredders for next to nothing these days and they are surprisingly fun. I bought one after I had my identity stolen (along with significant amounts of cash) for the 3rd time and had had enough. By destroying important documentation with your details on correctly you will definitely reduce the chances of being a victim of identity theft.
online billing
a lot of banks now offer that you can just get your statements online which does cut the risk of your mail being stolen and taken that way. it's not 'emailed' to you, but kept inside your internet banking account. you can still print it out later.
plus you'll be doing the planet a favour with less paper.
On Line Billing is Good
We use on-line billing for everything except our mortgage payment. They only accept checks for that. But on-line billing is safe, you get a printout of everything that's paid. You're not charged for the service at all. With checks you have to pay for them and stamps as well. It also increases your credit rating. When you're making monthly payments via your checking account it raises your score. It also doesn't get lost in the mail.