Have you ever thought about how police officers and other officials protect their identity? We’ve got news for you! We’ve revealed precisely what these crooks disclose to the police about identity theft scams.
According to the U.S. Postal Service, there were almost 12 million incidents of identity theft in the United States in 2006 at a cost of $6.3 billion to consumers. This alarming statistic has increased the alert level of many consumers; however most are still unaware of the specific tactics these identity thieves use. After an extensive interview, one notorious identity thief, revealed 4 misconceptions she used to separate you from your money.
Misconception # 1 All Identity Thieves Are Men
This is a very common myth that makes an identity thief’s job so much simpler. One of the main issues is that the media portrays most identity thieves as men. In actuality, most criminals are fashionable and attractive females! You can steer clear from this deception, by closely monitoring your personal data with both women and men. According to researchers, both men and women let their guard down around women, more than they would with men. Remember, everyone is a potential identity thief. You don’t have to become fearful that everyone you meet is a crook, but just be aware.
Misconception # 2 Trusting Your Friendly Store Clerk or Waiter
This is probably one of the most difficult mistakes to steer clear from, because most of the time we have to give personal information when making purchase or eating out. However, some of these people have two jobs. By day they may work at the local shopping mall, yet at night they take on another job. This other job is basically to provide credit card and account numbers to people. It’s so easy to do, since the account information is in-hand. To avoid major issues, review your statements closely, and think about keeping track of your purchases with a journal.
For example, check your statement when it comes in the mail, that way if you notice anything out of the ordinary, even if it’s just $50, you catch it. Question: How long does it really take for a store employee to gain complete access to thousands of consumers’ personal information? Answer: A very short time. Based on what our infamous identity thief has stated, most of the identity thieves take on jobs for a little while, and after they’ve collected the data they need, they are long gone sipping mojitos by the bay!
Myth #3: Throwing Away Unopened Junk Mail
If you have good credit, bad credit, or no credit at all, your information is out there. On average, you can get about 15-20 plus offers every month to open a new checking/savings account, or a credit card. The thing that makes this a big problem is that most of us are too lazy to closely monitor our documents. There are two types of people in this situation. There’s the person who may not have a shredding machine, but still decides to just throw the mail with all sorts of personal information in the trash or just tear it in half. Then there’s the person who actually owns a personal shredding machine, but doesn’t “feel” like shredding each and every piece of information.
Remember, the only thing a criminal has to do to get his/her hands on your personal data is go through your trash, and you become a victim. Having a hard time believing? Think about this, what are you usually doing at 3 in the morning? Well, let’s think about what the trustworthy identity thief is doing. He or she is in your trash rummaging through, taking information and going home to fit the pieces to the puzzle. Hint: Once you get done shredding the documents, add some water to the trash bag before sealing it and then throw it away. Your information will be chopped to little pieces and wet and smeared, which leaves it illegible.
Myth# 4: Receiving or Sending Mail from Your Home
By now you are beginning to see the point. Identity thieves commit their crimes in several ways. They steal credit card payments and other outgoing mail from private or curbside mailboxes. In fact, according to our expert, some will go a step further and file a change of address form in the victims name to divert mail and gather personal and financial data. Here is a simple tip. First, drop all of your outgoing mail in a local United States Postal Service mailbox. Second, consider opening a P.O. Box. I know this seems inconvenient but to truly protect yourself, these are some of the preventative measures you must take to win the fight against identity theft.
The biggest issue is that there are so many avenues in which to become a victim; stay protected all day every day. Don’t try to fix the problem alone!
It’s very difficult to protect yourself and your family, successfully, without help. Trying to do it alone can be worrisome and not very effective. It makes a huge difference when you have someone protecting you who has actually been through the storm! LifeLock is a company who has absolutely outstanding identity theft protection for everyday people.
When you begin to research a service to proactively monitor and protect your credit, please be sure that they have been recommended by the top law enforcement officials, and of course that their service has proven to work in real life.
Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Theft Protection are crucial. Stop Identity Theft with LifeLock. Life Lock can guarantee identity theft never happens to you. To learn more about how to protect yourself from identity thieves, visit lifelock.com