FNTN

Introduction.

You could be forgiven for thinking why on earth would a finance advice website like fntn.com run an article about identity theft? Well the simple answer to that is if your identity has been stolen or even just compromised – then your personal finances could be about to take a turn for the worse. So, if you have been a victim of identity theft what can you do about it and, perhaps more importantly, what can you do to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft?

Don’t find yourself a victim of id theft

Realizing you’re a victim of identity theft.

Your major worry about identity theft should not revolve around any concerns about you suddenly getting a call from the Department of Homeland Security because you’re implicated in some terrorist threat – unless perhaps you’ve recently visited Israel where the state is known to steal foreigner’s identity in order to assassinate their opponents! What is much more likely to be your wake up call to your identity theft, is that you start to see charges on your credit card bills that you can’t account for or, even worse, bills from loans companies for personal loans they say you’ve taken out with them – despite knowing nothing about them. Now, not only are you a victim of identity theft – but also of fraud.

Don’t know about identity theft - looks like someone’s stolen her shirt?

Be vigilant.

The vast majority of fraud arising from identity theft invariably begins with small amounts of money being charged to a credit card. If the person that has stolen your identity gets away with making some small charges on your credit card they will satisfy themselves that you’re not checking your credit card statements. With that knowledge they will then quickly move to making a purchase worth several hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your credit card – leaving you with one massive headache of a problem to sort out. The simple rule to follow here is to always be vigilant and diligently check all of the purchase listed on all of your credit card bills. That $5 for a sandwich from a gas station in Tulsa, that $20 race bet in Lexington – are they really your purchases? OK if you live in LA and have never been out of California you might spot them – but what about that $10 pizza at the Dodger’s Stadium? If you suspect any amount has been incorrectly charged to your credit card – you must contact the company immediately and ask for a new card to be sent out to you, or cancel it and look for a new credit card deal online. Regularly checking your credit score is another way to be vigilant against the threat of identity theft.

Doh! - Checking your credit score just once a year could be a mistake!

Check your credit score.

Regularly checking your credit score can be a big help in the fight against identity theft and even better than that is to get a third party to monitor it for you. By regularly checking your credit score you will know how likely you are to be able to take out a new mortgage, personal loan or even get hold of a new credit card should you need to. However, just taking advantage of that one free credit report a year won’t be much help if just days after receiving it someone fraudulently takes out a loan in your name. To avoid this sort of problem you’re strongly advised to use the services of one of the companies that will make it their business to protect your identity and thereby reduce the risk of you being a victim of identity theft crime. They will do this by not only monitoring your credit score – but also looking for unusual purchases on your credit cards or suddenly taking out, say, an auto loan. In such instances they will then alert you to check that the financial transaction they’re concerned about is a bona fide one from you – and not one that needs referring to the police.

Any idea who might be snooping on your online identity?

Don’t make it easy for identity thieves.

Prevention is always better than cure – so what else can you do to avoid identity theft? First of all the online things. Be very wary of who you share any online information with. Facebook is in all sorts of a mess with this at present and if you keep your CV on Linkedin don’t make it freely available. As well as changing ATM PINs regularly you should also regularly change any passwords and PINS for online finance accounts. If you think an email is a ‘phishing’ expedition or an offer to good to be true – it probably is so don’t open it. If you’ve got a wireless network make sure you’ve secured it with WAP or preferably WEP security settings and do keep your anti-virus software up to date. If you and your partner like having a bit of fun with online pornography – think again. Steve Jobs might yet have a good idea in trying to keep pornography off Apple products. Not because of any moralistic or prudish reasons – but because it is often infected with Trojan like viruses. Offline, things to do include shredding all of your bills and personal data before throwing them out and if you live in an apartment, or shared accommodation, get your bank, credit card and loans companies to arrange for you to collect valuable items from the US Mail office or a local branch.