How to Protect Your Identity from Being Stolen

Keeping your identity secure, both online and offline, has become simultaneously a serious threat, and easier than ever. The real difference maker? Knowledge. If you understand what steps to take, you can make it exceptionally hard for fraudsters to get at your sensitive personal information. Here are some things you can do.

Handling Paper and Documents Safely

KYou may be surprised by just how easy it can be for a scammer to get ahold of your personal information on what seems like an innocuous strip of paper. Even receipts can have just enough information on them to be a risk! For this reason, you should do these:

• Shred all documents, and properly. Simple strip shredders are better than nothing, but only marginally. If someone is determined enough to commit fraud, they’re likely determined enough to tape together some strips of paper. For the best results cross-cut or micro-cut shredders are best.

• Keep a secure waste bin. Avoid keeping your home’s trash bin away from the home or around back in a dark area. It is ideal to keep your waste in a closed space, such as a garage. If you don’t have access to a garage, placing the bin near a motion-activated light can help considerably.

• Get a locked mailbox. Stolen mail is a classic move, and one that is still very popular with thieves.

Only Keep What You Need

In your day to day travels and traversal, only bring what you need. Your wallet, purse, or knapsack should only have credit or bank cards that you use regularly. If you don’t use a card often, you may not notice when it disappears. You should also never carry your Social Security Card, unless you need it for a specific purpose.

Also, get rid of this stuff:

• Bank statements and bills. The majority of the world going paperless helps you out a ton here, since statements and bills, including payment confirmations, are all available for your viewing online anytime you need them. This means you don’t need them in your home!

• Unnecessary tax information. Unless you are a small business owner, only keep tax documents for three years. This is the period of time where the IRS can call up about your returns about auditing or clarification.

Keeping Secure On the Web

Offline can be hard enough, but online adds a whole new layer of trouble. Keep these tips in mind while surfing the web or accessing online accounts:

• Use strong passwords. Fido or Clarence are terrible passwords. As are any important dates, kids, or relationships. Use a mixture of upper and lower case, use numbers and symbols, and try to keep passwords above 10 characters.

• Don’t download things you don’t need to. Be very aware of anything your phone or computer downloads that is an “EXE” file. EXE means “executable,” and is generally a type of downloader that installs software onto your device. If you just purchased a game or program, an EXE makes sense. If you just bought a song or logged into your bank account, an EXE is extremely suspicious.

• Avoid unsecure websites. When surfing the web always look for “https” ahead of the “www.” HTTPS refers to a secure site, while HTTP refers to an unsecure site!

• Only use public wi-fi when you have to. Dummy wi-fi hotspots are a serious issue, so be sure to use wi-fi from sources you trust, such as those offered by nearby businesses. Never connect to unsecure residential or personal wi-fi!

Keeping safe is entirely doable, as long as you avoid making yourself into an easy target. Take the above tips and start beefing up your personal security!