Article Advise

submitted: May 8th 2008 | by: PaulWilcox | Total views: 4 | Word Count: 451 | |

The false use of someone else's credit card or bank account or even using someone else's name to work under are all different forms of identity theft. You are often expected to repay money if you become a victim of identity theft but here are some tips that will guarantee some protection to help you from becoming victimized.

Firstly, we should all recognize the various forms of identity theft and how they occur in order to know how to prevent it from happening. There are many tips for protection against identity theft that we can easily follow such as checking our credit ratings regularly and keeping an eye on our bills for any unusual activity.

Never give out your personal information to anyone unless it is a verified and trusted source .A good habit to get into is to shred those personal documents that may have personal information from a credit card company or bank or even just a credit card offer that comes in the mail. Social security cards and numbers are extremely important to keep track of as it a great starting point for someone looking for a new identity.

You should always memorize your social security number. Never have it written on anything or printed on a check. The same goes for a driver's license. Do not print anymore information on the checks then needed as it can easily be stolen. You may even want to consider having your information taken out of the phone book. Never give out any information from phone calls or emails that you haven't asked for until you check to see if the person contacting you is genuine. Always keep copies of you personal papers or identification at home while traveling just in case they are lost or stolen.

Other tips for protection against identity theft are to keep any valuable information in the home locked away in a safe. If you receive unsolicited emails or telephone calls requesting your personal information, do not give any information away unless you contact your bank yourself to verify that the caller is legitimate. If traveling, keep copies of your identification at home in case they are stolen.

Online Identity Theft Tips

Tips for protection against online identity theft are relatively simple. Always keep the computer protected from viruses and hacking using high quality antivirus and spy ware programs which are updated regularly. Change passwords frequently and make them as hard to figure out as possible using combinations of letters and numbers.

Never answer emails requesting account information, passwords or credit card details. Before entering bank or credit card information, verify that the website is authentic and safe to use as it could easily be a fake.

About the Author

If you'd like to get more information about how to protect yourself from internet security threats, visit the Online Security Toolkit at http://www.onlinesecuritytoolkit.com, where you'll find helpful information about spam, spyware, viruses, identity theft and more.

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