Best Ways To Prevent ID Theft

Although there are some ways in which you can actively safeguard yourself against identity theft, it is important to remember that there is no 100% protection against this fast growing crime.  This is because many things will be outside of your control such as any personal information of yours that is held with third parties such as banks, medical centres, government agencies or employers.  If any one of these places were to suffer a security breach your identity could fall into the hands of criminals, and you may not even find out about the breach until after your details have been misused.

However there are many ways you can significantly reduce the risks of becoming a victim of identity theft, and the best and most effective of these include:

•    Credit Blocking – if you do not intend to apply for any credit products yourself in the near future (such as new bank accounts or credit cards) then you can place a complete block or ‘freeze’ on your consumer credit file, which will prevent anyone from credit in your name.

•    Shredding – you must ensure you shred document with your personal information on before you throw it away, as one of easiest ways for identity thieves to steal your data is to simply pick bank statements, credit card bills or old check books out of the trash.

•    Identity Theft Protection Services – companies such as LifeLock, ID Patrol,TrustedID and Identity Guard offer a wide range of measures to help protect you against identity theft, such as credit monitoring, fraud flags and computer anti-malware software and also offer financial support to help you cover the costs of resolving your case if you do become a victim.

•    Data Sharing – never share your personal data with anyone else, unless you are
absolutely sure it is necessary, and that the person requesting the information is genuine.  You should never share online bank, credit card or email account sign in information with anyone, as they could use this to access your accounts and misuse them.