Could Someone Steal Your Identity?

Do you spend time worrying about if someone could steal your identity? If so, is it something you worry about more than you should?

As victims of identity theft have discovered, it can only take one experience to change one’s life for years.

That said could someone steal your identity?

Be Pro-Active and Not Reactive?

In doing all you can to combat identity theft, remember a few important pointers:

I.D. theft protection providers – Start your quest to be safe by finding a good I.D. theft protection provider. That company should have your best financial interests in mind at all times. So, have you considered a review of the Identity Guard family plan for you and your loved ones? Such a plan will help protect you and your family’s finances. With I.D. theft criminals looking to strike whenever, you want as much protection as possible. Do your best to locate a provider that will have your best interests in mind.
Avoid leaving sensitive info out– Another thing is not to leave sensitive info out there. For example, leaving your credit card or bank receipts sitting around can be trouble. If a criminal gets their hands on even one of these, they could make life miserable for you. Do all you can to keep such documents in your hands at all times. Once there is no longer a need for these items, be sure to shred them as soon as possible.
Make sure your children have protection – Kids can be one of the most vulnerable groups. With that in mind, protect your child if they are old enough to be online. He or she should not be talking to strangers online. They should also steer clear of downloading any email attachments that appear suspicious. If your child accesses an email with malware in it, they could put a virus on your computer. Once that virus is there, it can open the door for a criminal to access any online financial work you do.
Watch out for parents – When your parents get up in years, they like children can be prime targets for thieves. That said make sure your elderly parents have protection online and offline. One scam offline is a criminal posing as someone from the Internal Revenue Service. They will probe the elderly over the phone for an account number or other pertinent details. Even giving out a name and where one banks can be enough to get a criminal off and running. When you have a senior parent or parents, do all you can to protect them from identity theft.

Although you do not want to worry yourself to death over identity theft, it is something to be cognizant of.

That said make sure you have as many layers of defense as possible to make it quite hard for criminals to get to you.

Making it easy for criminals to strike is something you will regret for many years to come.