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Simple Ways to Protect Your Identity

posted by TrueNorth Financial Strategies on Monday, May 9, 2016

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. Once a victim of identity theft, you could spend an average of $1,500 and 175 hours to get your life back in order. Though that statistic may be alarming, you can stay one step ahead of identity thieves with the following safety precautions.

How Do They Do That?

Identity thieves will steal your wallet, purse or laptop, pick through your mail, dig through your garbage, hack into your computer or stage email and telephone scams to obtain your personal information. They’ll stop at nothing to obtain as much personal and/or financial information about you as they can to take advantage of you for their own benefit.

To thwart identity thieves, you must be diligent about protecting your personal property and information—whether it’s in your mailbox, on your person or in your computer.

General Precautions

Computer Precautions

• Update your anti-virus software regularly or use a firewall protection program. 
• When getting a new computer, delete personal files from your old computer by using a "wipe" utility program to "clean" information off of your hard drive. 

Mail Precautions

• Retrieve your mail every day from your personal mailbox.
• Drop outgoing mail, especially bills and other payments, into a secure, locked mailbox. Do so before the last pickup of the day.
• Pay attention to when you should receive bills. Late bills may indicate a problem, because identity thieves may charge your billing address. 
• When traveling, have your mail held at the post office or ask a neighbor to pick it up for you each day. 
• If you move, notify the post office of your new address. 
• Don't leave important mail in an unsecured location, even if it's a place you think things are secure, such as your desk at work.

Personal Items and Information Precautions 

• Carry only what you absolutely need in your wallet or purse, and keep an itemized list at home of what you carry. In the event that your property is stolen, you will know exactly which companies to notify to cancel and/or freeze your accounts. For more information on what you should have in your wallet, read our blog post on what to leave at home. 
• Provide your personal information to businesses on a "need to know" basis only. 
• Ask your financial institution to omit your Social Security Number and driver's license number from your checks. 
• Request that account numbers or identification numbers be changed if they are your Social Security Number. 
• Write "see ID" on the backs of your credit cards instead of signing them. 
• Purchase a shredder to destroy personal and financial documents that you do not want to keep.

Added Protection with TrueNorth

For added protection, consider affordable Identity Theft coverage to cover the added expenses of clearing your good name.  For more information and financial guidance, call TrueNorth at 1-800-798-4080.  Our financial advisers would be happy to schedule a consultation with you and your loved ones to make sure the things that matter most are protected and accounted for.