Reducing your risk of identity theft

About half a million Americans are robbed of their identity each year by identity thieves. The consequences of their actions can result in severely damaged credit, and fixing it can cost hundreds of dollars and many hours of your time. The following methods can help you reduce your risk of identity theft.

1.     1.            The primary key to your credit report, bank accounts, and many credit card accounts is your Social Insurance Number. Guard it well and don’t provide it to just anyone or any company. Except in certain instances, companies don’t need your Social Security Number at all, so some identity theft experts recommend providing only the last four digits if a company wants it but isn’t required to have it. An example of companies that might require the full Social Security Number are companies that pay you money, either through employment, interest-bearing accounts (banks), or other means (sales on eBay or other Internet sites).
2.     2.            Your credit report contains your credit score, but more importantly it includes your Social Insurance Number, past and present employers, and your credit accounts and their corresponding account numbers, including those that have been closed. Unfortunately, virtually any individual or company can request a copy of your credit report for evaluating their risk of hiring you, renting to you, or providing you with a loan. In order to protect private information about you on your credit report, request that your Social Insurance Number on any application be truncated or obliterated and that your credit report be shredded in your presence or given to you once a decision has been made about your credit card, loan, or rental application. There is no reason for a lender or rental manager to retain anything other than your name and credit score to justify a decision.
3.     3.            Other than junk mail simply being annoying, a more pressing problem is that it brings many credit card offers to your door, sometimes on a daily basis. Identity thieves have become adept at using those offers to steal identities and money, and ruin people’s credit. Don’t just throw your credit card statements, bank statements, and credit card offers in the trash since once the trash hits the street outside your home, it becomes public property that anyone can go through if they are willing. Instead, use a crosscut shredder to destroy those statements and offers. Although crosscut shredders are more expensive than regular shredders, they provide greater peace of mind about your credit and personal information.
4.     4.            Credit reporting bureaus often sell the names of people for whom they have a credit record to banks, mortgage lenders, and credit card companies. Ask them to remove your name from their lists to reduce the number of pre-approved credit offers you receive.
5.     5.            Many companies make additional money by selling marketing lists that include the names of their policyholders or customers. However, the Direct Marketing Association maintains Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service lists that are used by banks and other marketers. Contact the Direct Marketing Association and have them add your name to their list of name deletions.
6.     6.            Many years ago when credit cards were more difficult to get, people use to stuff their wallets and purses full of all their credit cards as a type of status symbol. In today’s world, doing so can cause you untold heartache and expenses if you lose your wallet or purse that has 20 credit cards in it. Do not carry identifying documents and extra credit cards unless you know you might need them. Many people rotate their credit card use each month so that they only have one credit card in their wallet that always has a credit line available on it. This tactic also keeps your credit cards active, which can be useful in raising your credit card score. Cancel credit card accounts that you have no use for anymore. Remember, though, that having an unused credit card can increase your credit score because that credit card comes with a line of credit, so don’t cancel it if you can foresee using it sometime in the future.
7.     7.            If you don’t have a copy of your driver’s license, Social Insurance card, and credit cards, make a copy now. Copy both sides so that you have the account numbers, expiration dates, and customer service numbers in case your purse or wallet is lost or stolen.
8.     8.            If you have a streetside mail box like those shown in the picture at left, especially an unlocked one and one with a red flag on it to indicate outgoing mail, don’t use it to mail payments and checks, and certainly don’t raise that red flat to help thieves identify mailboxes that might have outgoing payment checks in them. Drop payments off at the indoor drop at your post office since even outdoor mailboxes at the post office have been yanked from the ground and hauled away by thieves.
9.     9.            Find out when the mail carrier typically delivers mail to your neighborhood and gather your mail as soon as it is delivered. Identity thieves have been known to follow the mail carrier through the neighbor-hood stealing mail almost as soon as it has been delivered. If the post office offers you one of the locked boxes at a street cluster box like those in the picture at right, take advantage of it or at least get your own locked box for your property if you don’t want to walk down the street to the cluster box.
10. Do not have your driver’s license, telephone number, or Social Insurance Number printed on your checks. Your address is enough, especially since most companies will appropriate identification when cashing your check regardless of what is printed on the check itself. That’s because when people change address and have hundreds of checks left over with the old address, they rarely order new checks and throw the old ones away.
11. If you’re not already receiving your Canada Pension Plan statement each year, contact your local Revenue Canada office and request it. Read over it to check for any fraudulent activity.
12. It seems like a common and useful thing to do, but many people don’t look at the charges on their credit card statements before paying them. Check every charge and make sure that you know what the charge was for.
13. Provide your credit card number, Social Insurance Number, driver’s license, or other personal information over the phone only if you were the one who initiated the call and trust the business. Even when you do, though, ask the company what they intend to do with your information and whether or not they sell it to other companies. If they do, tell them that you want to be removed from the lists that they sell.
14. In order to get credit, one has to apply for credit, even identity thieves, so subscribe to a credit report monitoring service that will notify you whenever someone applies for credit in your name.
15. For lots of useful information about your privacy rights, removing your name from various lists, and when you are required to provide certain information, visit the Canadian Consumer Information Gateway at www.consumerinformation.ca/