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27,400 Cases Of Identity Theft
Daily - Will You Be Next
Did you know that within the United States alone,
there are 10,000,000 victims of identity theft every year. That is a stunning
27,400 cases every day or 1,140 victims every hour. What is even more disturbing
is that by all indications, this problem will get worse before it starts to get
better.
Identity theft happens when your personal
information is stolen and used to commit fraud. This is a very serious offence
that can ruin your good name and credit, and cost you lots of time and money.
Have you put anything in place to protect yourself
from this problem? Identity thieves can only take advantage of you if they get
valuable information from you such as your social security number. Here are some
pointers on how to protect yourself from this crime, detect it, and report it.
One of the first things you can do to protect
yourself from this menace is not to keep your social security card or any form
of identification that has your SSN on it, on your person. Memorize your SSN and
keep your Social Security Card in a secure safe at home or at a bank. Do not
divulge your SSN to anyone without first knowing exactly what they are going to
do with it and how they are going to store and protect it.
Never give out personal information on the phone
or internet unless you are absolutely sure you know who you are dealing with,
and that the information being requested is necessary.
Obtain your FREE credit report annually from the
three national consumer reporting agencies, and carefully review them. Review
your financial accounts regularly, looking particularly for charges you did not
make.
Be very careful with the disposal of your trash.
You should invest in a small shredder, so that you can shred any document you
wish to dispose of, especially those that may have sensitive information on them
such as credit card statements or health insurance forms.
If you should ever become a victim of identity
theft, you must act very quickly and do the following:
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Contact your credit
card company and have your credit card(s) cancelled.
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Contact at least one
of the three free national consumer reporting
companies, and have them put a fraud alert on your
file.
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Contact each creditor
where your credit has been misused, and inform them
about the fraud. Ensure that you follow this up in
writing.
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Contact your local
police department and report the fraud, and get a
copy of the police report. This will be a very
valuable document to prove that you are a victim of
identity theft and that you have reported the matter
to the police. This should therefore protect you
from debt collectors.
So please take care of your personal information.
Be alert and immediately report it should you become a victim of this crime.
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