About ten years ago, one of my electrician coworkers told me the story of his identity theft.
His BIL was stealing credit card offers from his mailbox. Ran up some $60k before discovery. He didn't have to pay that debt, but the legal bills and wasted time was substantial. He advised me to prevent that from happening by freezing my credit.
I put the plan into action the next day. Contacted all four (at that time) credit agencies, paid each $10, and froze my credit.
Since then, I've been "victim" of I'd theft twice. Both times affecting my fed tax return. Other than waiting for an additional six months for my first return, I've not suffered any other effects.
What's your I'd theft protection strategy?
ID theft prevention?
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RealPerson
- Posts: 875
- Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:33 pm
Re: ID theft prevention?
Besides the credit freezes you mentioned, I try to have everything online. The most common cause for identity theft is a physical document. Mail is stolen from your mailbox. My mailbox has nothing but junk mail. All relevant documents are online, including brokerage etc. Just make sure your firewall, and virus checker are up to date. Make sure the updated security patches for your operating system are updated.
Our taxes are filed electronically and have any refunds deposited in our bank account by the IRS.
Whenever a check is required for payment, I use a check sent directly from the bank because my account number is not on it. If that is not possible, I write a check from a special separate checking account that has a low balance to minimize risk.
I have had a couple of instances where our credit card was compromised. One was from use of the card at a fancy hotel in South America. One was domestic (never found out how that happened). That is easily fixed, takes virtually no time and costs you nothing.
Also, I am not on any social media, so people could not easily find answers to online security questions.
Our taxes are filed electronically and have any refunds deposited in our bank account by the IRS.
Whenever a check is required for payment, I use a check sent directly from the bank because my account number is not on it. If that is not possible, I write a check from a special separate checking account that has a low balance to minimize risk.
I have had a couple of instances where our credit card was compromised. One was from use of the card at a fancy hotel in South America. One was domestic (never found out how that happened). That is easily fixed, takes virtually no time and costs you nothing.
Also, I am not on any social media, so people could not easily find answers to online security questions.