Everyday thousands of ordinary people like you and me become victim to identity theft. Identity theft is when a criminal takes someone’s personal information (social security number, birth date, bank account number, credit card number etc.) for their personal gain. The scary thing about this type of crime is that it can happen at any time – you can be at home, work, school or sleep. Identify thieves are no respecters of people, time or place. They will prey at any opportunity and waste no time getting what they want.
Minimize your risks and take proactive steps to stop identity theft before it happens to you.
Here are a few steps you can take to prevent identify theft from happening to you.
- Do not give out personal information over the phone, mail or internet –
- Unless you initiated the contact; however still be cautious, know who you are giving the information to and what it will be used for and who will see it.
- Don’t carry more than what you need in your wallet or purse.
- Avoid carrying your social security card
- Avoid carry more than 1-2 credit cards
