Articles >> Identity theft. How to make yourself a hard target.

Well as reported by the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft has been the fastest growing form of crime with identity theft ranking number one in the lists of complaints at FTC. Without a doubt this is a big problem and many people dont realize how important this is. Being a victim of identity theft could result to your credit being damaged for the rest of your life, and we all know that would mean being a slave for the rest your life to debt which equals unhappiness and no one wants that.

There many facts about identity theft that are easily ignored than strongly noted, most people think persons with the legal age of holding a credit card are the only ones that can be victims of identity theft, you are very wrong if you have been led to believe that way. There has been cases of checking accounts being opened with the identity of little children as little as 3 years old. One must understand that anyone with a social security number can be a victim of identity theft. In fact let me just summarize the items thieves use to commit identity theft.

1).Social Security Numbers - which all Americans have. 

2).A date of Birth and Names - all of us have these. 

3).Birth Certificates. 

4).Mothers Name. 

5).PIN numbers (Personal Identification Numbers). 

6).Drivers Licence. 

7).Bank Accounts and bank details. 

8).Credit accounts.

 

If you have any of the above documents then you are a sure target for identity theft and this includes everyone in your family. To protect yourself you have to make yourself a hard target. Now that is easily said than done but, there companies like Life Lock, that monitor the use of your information at any time and alert you anytime they detect fraud. As much as these companies guarantee you protection, it is important to take some simple measures to make yourself a hard target.

 

1.Shred all personal information using a cross cut shredder. 

2.Place Fraud Alerts on your credit account and renew them every 90 days. Use Life Lock. 

3.Monitor your credit report for any unauthorized changes at all 3 bureaus. (Tip: stagger them, one bureau every 4 months) 

4.Remove yourself from pre-authorized credit lists 

5.Avoid sending or receiving personally identifying information in the mail such as checks and bank statements. 

6.Never give out your SSN, or any information for that matter, unless necessary. 

7.Do not carry your SSN, Passport (unless out of county), Birth Certificate, PINs, or Checks in your wallet or purse. 

8.Be aware of Phishing Attempts, and telemarketing phone calls that request private information. 

9.Use security software for your computer and only shop at reputable businesses. 

10.Purchase identity theft insurance.

Now the benefits of purchasing Life Lock protection is it comes with a number of advantages that am sure you will love. Life Lock takes proactive steps to prevent identity theft before it happens to reduce your risk. But in case of any failure if you are a member of Life Lock, they have a million service guarantee to repair you credit in the event something l