16 Ways To Prevent Identity Theft

Ways To Prevent Identity Theft 

1. Never give out your social security number to anyone on the phone! Just about anyone can call you on your phone and fake a caller ID number. Identity thieves are always trying to obtain valid social security numbers.
2. Always go directly to your bank website and never ever open any emails claiming to be from your bank. Many of these emails are creative fakes (a.k.a - phishing) that look identical to legitimate bank websites and emails. These fake websites are only made to steal your identity and sometimes your money!
3. Shred every piece of personal information that you receive from the mail or anything that your print online. Also, don't just throw away junk mail since junk mailers have detailed personal information about you and almost always include it in their offers. Identity thieves are actively searching dumpsters for anything that contains your identity.
4. Make sure your PC has a firewall (and it's enabled). If you're PC is connected to the internet and you don't have a firewall then it's most likely "open season" on your hard drive and all the personal information on it!
5. Get a really good Antivirus and make sure it stays updated (multiple times a day if possible). Computer viruses have one major goal these days and that's to steal your identity. Why? Virus authors and publishers get paid lots of money for each piece of personal information that their virus steals.
6. Always cut up old credit and debit cards. If you have a cross cut shredder that will shred plastic, that's even better.
7. Never leave your mail in the mail box over night or on the weekends.
8. When going out of town visit your local post office and place a hold on mail delivery until you return. Don't depend on others to pickup your mail.
9. Join an identity protection program. My wife and I use LifeLock. For $10.00 a month they prevent anyone on earth from doing anything with your identity. See my review below.
10. Keep every receipt no matter how big or small. Most receipts carry very little identifiable personal information, but we don't want to give ANY information to anyone. It's a small tip, but a necessary one.
11. If you're shopping online, only shop from websites that offer secure checkouts. The official phrase for a secure site is a site that offers "SSL encryption" upon checkout.
12. Shutdown your computer when you're not using it. This prevents hackers from knowing that you're "out there" and prevents them from trying to break through your router or firewall for an extended period of time.
13. Type in URL's carefully, because if you don't you could end up at a fake site designed to steal your identity. Many of these sites are carefully crafted to resemble the "real thing". Which brings me to my next point.
14. Every computer that you use should have Mcafee Site Advisor installed. Site Advisor will put a green check mark next to safe websites in a google or yahoo search and a green bar at the bottom right for websites you are already connected to.
15. No legitimate company or person will EVER ask for your password either on the phone or via email...never! So, if someone calls or emails you asking for your password to "something" you should immediately hang up on them or delete that email.
16. Always install your Windows critical updates. Visit update.microsoft.com and check for updates. If any updates are found install all of them and reboot.