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Some tips to prevent Identity Theft
By Paul Rushing | July 16, 2007
Identity Theft Prevention should be important to everybody, young and old. There are many way you can safeguard your identity from identity thieves and the list below is not designed to be all inclusive. It just points out some facts that you may have over looked.
- Is your drivers license the same as your Social Security Number? If it is get it changed immediately. You give your drivers license / identification card to a lot of people and they record this number. Although a drivers license is personally identifiable the number is easier to change than your social security number.
- If you are going out of town stop your mail. Do not rely on a neighbor to check it for you. Have the post office hold it for you.
- If you rent or are selling your home get a PO Box - this also applies to students away in school. Do not rely on the post office or creditors to properly forward your mail.
- Opt Out from prescreened credit offers. You can do this with a phone call to the major credit reporting agencies. See Opting-out.
- Do not have your full name printed on your checks, Just use your first and middle initial. It is a lot harder for them to steal your Identity if they don’t know your full name.
- If do not wish to pay for an unlisted phone number change the listing to just your initials and last name for the same reasons listed above.
- Buy a shredder. Shred anything you do not wish to keep that has your name and address on it. Your trash is the number one ways that Identity Theft happens.
Just using these simple tips will help reduce your chances of having your Identity Stolen. Don’t do like this guy and post your social security to the internet. That is inviting Identity Theft and is not a way to prevent Identity Theft from happening to you
Topics: Prevention |