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Front Range Financial Consulting

What can I do to avoid it?

Simple steps can help you avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud.

You have more weapons against identity theft than you may think. Being aware of the threat and exercising common sense are two of the most important.

Recognize that your personal information is valuable to thieves, and make protecting it part of your normal routine at home, at work, at locations where you do business, on vacation—everywhere.

The Better Business Bureau offers an excellent self-quiz you can take to evaluate how well you are protecting yourself against identity theft. In addition, use the links below for more common-sense precautions you can take.

General Precautions

Do:

  • Keep all personal information, including passwords and account numbers, securely hidden in your home.
  • Secure your purse or wallet at work and elsewhere.
  • Make sure no one is lingering nearby before you give personal information over the phone or in person, or enter it into an ATM or other device.
  • Use only secure mailboxes for incoming and outgoing mail.
  • Shred personal documents before discarding.
  • Ask about security procedures of companies with whom you do business.

Don’t:

  • Carry your Social Security card with you. When you go out, carry only those credit cards you need.
  • Give out your Social Security number, account numbers, passwords or any other private information in response to e-mail, phone or in-person requests from sources you don’t know.
  • Enter personal information on Web sites you don’t know to be legitimate and secure.

Important note: Children and teenagers can be targets of identity thieves, too. In fact, they make particularly attractive victims because their non-existent credit records are completely unblemished. In addition, it may take months or even years for the theft of a young person’s identity to be discovered. So it’s essential for parents to:

  • Be on the lookout for any evidence of misuse of a child’s Social Security, bank account, or credit card number or any other personal financial information.
  • Teach children and teens to take basic precautions against revealing personal information.
  • Make sure any computer the child is using is secure..

For more information, see Is Your Teen’s Identity Protected?.



Account Management Precautions

  • Use electronic transactions—such as online banking—instead of paper statements, bills and checks.
  • Close any inactive accounts and destroy old or expired credit cards.
  • Write only the last four digits of account numbers, not the whole number, on checks when paying bills.
  • Check credit card statements against receipts.
  • Monitor all your accounts regularly and report any suspicious activity to the account issuer.
  • Review your credit report, or “credit file disclosure,” regularly. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 you are entitled to obtain one free credit report per year by calling 877-322-8228 or at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Computer Precautions

  • Update your computer’s virus protection, firewall, browser security features and other privacy software tools frequently to be sure you have the latest version available. Set all software to automatically update your system when new security features are released. (visit http://update.microsoft.com for all Microsoft products)
  • Resist opening files or links from unknown sources. Instead, type the URL of the site you want directly into the address line.
  • Be creative in choosing passwords for your online accounts and don’t use obvious ones like birthdates, initials, or addresses. Add numeric, upper-case and special characters (!@#$) for additional strength Change your passwords frequently, too.
  • Use only secure banking, shopping or other business Web sites that have “https” and/or a padlock icon in the URL and/or a padlock icon in the status bar at the bottom of your screen, signifying that all transactions are secured.
  • Avoid storing personal information on a laptop computer unless absolutely necessary.
  • Run a “wipe” utility before disposing of any computer. That’s the only way to completely erase all information.
4643 South Ulster Street, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80237 | Phone: 303-200-1414 | Fax: 303-220-0790 | Toll-Free: 800-828-0119