Practical Suggestions for Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft

It's no surprise that thousands of Americans are victimized by identity theft each year. Last year more than 9,000,000 people were victims of identity theft amounting to some $45 billion dollars.

By the time the average person realizes they have become a victim of identity theft; it is much too late. By this point, the victim's financial stability and credit rating may be impacted significantly.

What can you to to protect yourself from identity theft? Here are some useful suggestions for you...

• Place passwords on your credit card, bank, and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
• Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having work done in your home.
• Use a paper shredder to shred sensitive documents before discarding them.
• Ask about information security procedures in your workplace or at businesses, doctor's offices or other institutions that collect your personally identifying information. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that it is handled securely. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well. Find out if your information will be shared with anyone else. If so, ask how your information can be kept confidential.
• Never tell anyone your personal information over the phone or send it through email, or fax. Most legitimate companies will not request this information from you via phone or any other unprotected source.
• Monitor your credit report on a monthly basis to watch for unusual activitiy. Many credit report services will alert you to such activity and even assist you in resolving issues. We have partnered with Equifax to offer you their Credit Watch product.

By following these steps you can lower your risk of becoming an identity theft victim. Being informed is the most valuable protection against identity theft.

Bryan A. Mjaanes is the owner of the successful ReviewCardOffers website - a credit card offer comparison site where you can review more than 130 credit card offers and apply online.

---

Learn About Prepaid Credit Card

Prepaid credit cards also called stored value card can be... Read More

Five Credit Card Billing Problems and How to Fix Them

It goes without saying that your first and best defense... Read More

Bounced Checks - Straight Talk On Dealing With Bad Checks (NSF)

A check can be considered bad if it is bogus... Read More

How To Prevent Fraudulent Credit Card Transactions

What Are Possible Signs of Fraudulent Transactions see at Web... Read More

7 Compelling Reasons Why A Prepaid Debit Card May Be Just The Financial Tool You Need

Prepaid debit cards are great financial tools and may be... Read More

Credit Cards for Home Business

It is wise for you to have a company credit... Read More

5 Killer Steps to avoid Credit Card SCAMS!

In August, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission issued their findings... Read More

Credit Cards: Pros and Cons

Sure, there are a lot of problems with credit cards,... Read More

What is on Your Credit Report?

Your credit report is a very important piece of the... Read More

Five Debt Negotiation Facts

These five debt negotiation facts along with a few debt... Read More

Bad Credit? No Credit? Yeah, Its a Problem.

Many companies use the slogan "Bad Credit? No Credit? No... Read More

5 Ways To Raise Credit Score

It's not as hard as you think to raise credit... Read More

What is Credit Repair and How Can It Help You?

There are millions of consumer credit reports on file from... Read More

Recognizing the Signs that You Might Need Credit Counseling

Most families in America today have a credit card; some... Read More

5 Things Your Credit Card Company Keeps Quiet About

Credit Cards can bankrupt you if you let them run... Read More

What Is the Fair Credit Reporting Act and What You Should Know About It

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the recent update... Read More

Our World Of Credit Cards! Which One Is Right For You

There are not many of us who do not have... Read More

Credit Counseling: Could it Work for Me?

In the face of financial hardship, many seeking a responsible... Read More

Finding What is on Your Credit Report

A credit report is basically a file about you kept... Read More

Have You Checked Your Permanent Record Lately?

As a young student I feared getting bad grades because... Read More

Why Your Credit Score is Important

Your credit score can either haunt you or reward you.... Read More

Tips for Credit Card Surfers

Moving money from credit card to credit card to take... Read More

Improving Your Credit Report

Even if you think you have a wonderful credit report,... Read More

Choosing the Best Low Interest Credit Card

With so many low interest credit cards on offer, how... Read More

Credit Repair, How To

Credit repair, is in a word, vital to reestablishing your... Read More

4 Steps You Can Take If Your Online Credit Card Application Has Been Refused

Help! I've Been Turned DownYou received an envelope in the... Read More

Balance Transfers Can Help You Stop Putting Money Down The Drain!

As you probably know, interest rates are at all time... Read More

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Your Credit Report

Your credit report is a very powerful report that essential... Read More

The Ghost of Expected Surprises

Here, Cratchet, what do you think you're doing?Uh, er, leaving... Read More

How Your Credit Rating Affects You, and How to Check It

You might not know it, but every time you take... Read More

Trade Credit: How to Determine if You Should Offer Net-30 Terms to Your Customers

What is trade credit?One of the major differences between consumer... Read More

Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate Now!

With today's credit card companies, there are many opportunities to... Read More

Compare Credit Card Offers and Reward Yourself

Here's a simple system on how to pay zero interest... Read More