What’s in a Name?

So lately I’ve been hearing a lot about how to protect yourself from identity theft, and while I have been fortunate and have not been a victim ***knock on wood****, I do know plenty of people who have.  From what I’ve heard, it’s no picnic, and it can leave you with a lot more damage than the banks would probably have you believe.

My friend travelled abroad in London, for instance, and she told me that people have to take their hand and hold it over their debit card at an ATM to shield it from the hidden cameras thieves install in them.  Additionally, at restaurants, instead of handing your credit card to the stranger waiting on your table to take to the back of the restaurant away from prying eyes, the server must bring a card terminal to the table so your card never leaves your side. 

 

So what can you do to protect yourself from identity theft?  According to an article I read:

Though many folks worry about keeping their credit card information secure when shopping online, the top methods that identity thieves use to steal personal data are still low-tech……Watch your personal documents, be careful to whom you give out your data over the phone, and be careful of mail theft."

 

I really hate snail mail.  It’s SLOW, it’s WASTEFUL, and it actually puts you at risk for being a victim of FRAUD!  Information that goes through electronically has all sorts of fancy shmancy encryption so it’s actually a lot harder to hack than just sifting through a few garbage cans or opening a mailbox or two.

 

The other thing that really caught my attention was the personal information we put on social networking sites though.  Your birthday is enough for a crafty thief to get the information he needs to do all sorts of damage.

 

What a world we live in… you can’t tell your internet friends what day you were born without having to worry that you might get a bill for an amazing vacation you never took.