Credit Card Identity Theft

You put up a firewall. You changed your passwords. You’re wary of spam and phish. You shred your mail and check your credit reports. Congratulations. You’ve done a lot to protect yourself from electronic credit card or identity theft.

But have you done enough? Have you overlooked any weaknesses?

Clean out your wallet. Thirty percent of all identity theft begins with a lost or stolen wallet, according to the better Business Bureau.

• Never carry your Social Security card with you. Put it in your lockbox or safe at home.
• Never carry credit or debit cards you don’t use. Lock them up at home. If you must carry a credit or debit card, put it in your pocket; very few pockets are ever lost or stolen.
• Close any unused accounts in writing. Cut the cards up into very small pieces before discarding. Buy a shredder credit cards and disks.
• Make a two-sided photocopy of everything in your wallet, and all the stuff you’ve taken out of it. Add that to the lockbox or safe. If your wallet is lost or stolen, you’ll have everything you need to report the loss to the card issuers.
• Never carry your checkbook. If you’re going to need to write a check, take just one check with you.
• Never have your driver’s license number or SSN printed on your checks.
• Never carry your account passwords or PIN with you. Record them with encrypted software and then store the disk in your lockbox or safe.
• As soon as a new credit card arrives, write “check photo ID” on the signature line.

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of putting all these documents in a lockbox or safe. Almost half of all identity theft is perpetrated by a neighbor, roommate, family member or someone who works at the victim’s home.

Click here to learn more about Debix and LoudSiren

back