Identity Theft – Protect Your Identity

February 21, 2009 by cyberbird
Filed under: Finance and Insurance 
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Few of us need reminding to guard our valuables, we find ever more ingenious ways of keeping them secure. But how many of us pay the same kind of careful attention to something potentially far more valuable than immediate cash or possessions – namely our very identity? Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing criminal activities, making it more important than ever to protect your identity.

For the victim, identity theft can be an extremely serious business. It can result in the individual finding it difficult to secure loans, a mortgage or even credit cards until the potentially expensive and certainly time-consuming business of sorting it out has been done. In other words, identity theft can undermine the individual victim’s whole financial status, as well as costing the financial services industry and the government millions of pounds every year.

An individual’s identity comprises personal information about them. It does not take a lot of such information fraudulently to establish an identity. It is important, therefore, to keep a check on any authorised access to such information, especially where it can be gleaned from mail that arrives in the post. Bank statements, credit card statements, and bills all represent potentially rich pickings for the would-be identity thief. Therefore, they should be thoroughly destroyed – preferably by shredding – before being put in the dustbin.

Some documents that arrive by post are naturally more valuable than others when it come to proving identity. If it is suspected that a driving licence or passport, for example, has been lost or stolen in the post, then the issuing office should be notified straight away.

Check bank statements for unusual or unexpected transactions and if anything looks odd, contact the bank immediately. By the same token, guard personal and account details carefully, never divulging them to unsolicited callers, even the bank or the police. In such events, ask for the caller’s number, check that it matches the one in the telephone directory and call them back. Remember that your bank will never ask you to divulge a PIN or the entire security code or password.

This is an age of passwords and it can certainly be difficult remembering them all. Nevertheless, whatever the temptation, do not choose the same password for different bank accounts and never use a bank account password for any other site on the internet. Although you will have the inconvenience of remembering even more passwords, you could prevent any criminal from gaining access to a whole range of different accounts and other personal information.

Be alert to so-called “phishing” expeditions, which involve your receiving an email which appears to come from a perfectly genuine addressee, asking for personal details or information. Many of these emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated, though still possible to spot and distinguish from the genuine article. Nevertheless, it pays to be continually on guard.

Finally, a particularly unpleasant form of identity fraud is used by criminals to assume the identity of a deceased individual. Protect the identity of a deceased loved one by registering with one of the several services that remove the individual’s name and details from mailing lists.

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