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http://identityprotection.homestead.com/index.html

Everyone loves shopping online; you save time and money, but at least you won’t need to fight for a parking spot in the hectic malls. In America almost everyone has a computer or at least knows how to operate one. People like the easy way out, and it has its own benefits. As technology grows things gets easier and risky for everyone. Well online shoppers needs to be aware of where and how they use their important ID such as credit or debit cards.
There’s very little you can do to prevent it, and you won’t know it’s happened to you until it’s too late. Identity theft is currently the fastest growing type of robbery in the United States. When a person steals someone’s identification without them knowing, and uses their information, the crime is called “Identity Theft”. Last Monday, the Fed arrested Albert Gonzales for cyber robbery. Federal prosecutors believe Albert Gonzales stole more than 130 million credit card data information making Albert the largest identity scammer.
Hacker main target to steal information from are major retail stores and banks. When a scammer steals a person’s personal information the only thing the thief can do is steal his money from a credit card or a bank account. Most identification scammers get caught is when they try to open a credit or a bank account, write bad checks or take out a loan from a bank, but living the victim with countless charges and years of bad credit on record. Identity scammers in United States have increased by 22% in 2008 from 2007. In 2008 nearly 10 million American’s identity was stolen.
Identity theft can happen to anyone, and don’t realize until you spend your next dollar and your credit card declines. To protect your personal information online as well as at home you need to purchase a shredder to shred all documents with personal information before throwing them away. Don’t send mail using your unsecured mailbox. Have your social security number changed if it is the same as your driver’s license number. Have a secured internet network Last but not least, have a confined place to keep your important and person information.
Although the work for scammer is hard, but only little information is needed such as your birth date, credit card numbers and social security number for a person to lose his identity information. Important thing that an online shopper can do is limit shopping online or never buy from unknown sites. Always shred all mails before throwing it away and make sure to check your credit report at least one time in year. If you do all those things to protect information, people like Albert Gonzales will never be able to steal someone’s information.

http://www.idwatchdog.com/index.php

Is my understanding correct? If not, what am I missing?

Wouldn’t it be better to contact the 3 credit companies and put a security freeze on our credit? Yes, it’s a hassle if we actually want credit, but then no one can get credit in our name, period. No hassles with laywers and ID theft insurance, because no one can get through to the credit companies.

One thing that everyone should do at least once a year is request an updated copy of their credit report. Not only should this be checked by you for accuracy, but also as an early warning system of possible identity theft. Federal law now states that you can receive a copy of your credit report at no charge one time a year. There are other circumstances in which you are allowed to get a free copy of your credit report, such as being denied credit, turned down for a job or insurance coverage based on information obtained from your credit report, or if you suspect it is incorrect due to previous identity frauds.

Another way to protect your information is to password protect all of your credit cards and bank accounts, so that no information can be gleaned without first supplying the correct password. When you fill out applications that ask for personal information that anyone could have access to, such as your mother’s last name before she was married, ask if you can use a password instead, for security purposes. In the event you are allowed to use a password, use something that no one else would be able to think of. You don’t want to use your social security number, your date of birth, anniversary dates, phone numbers, or a set or pattern of numbers. A mixture of both numbers and letters works best.

Any company that you have to give personal information to, such as your bank or doctor’s office, should be able to tell you what precautions they take in safeguarding your information, ask them. Find out exactly who in the company has access to it, what the policy is regarding sharing your information with affiliates or third parties, and how paperwork is disposed of.

Be very leery of giving out any of your personal information either over the telephone, or while on the internet. Identity thieves have to constantly think up new ways to get you to help them get your information, and they often pose as people you do business with to try to get what they need to steal from you. You have no way of knowing who is calling your house on the other end of the line, no matter who they may say they are.

When disposing of documents or mail that contains your personal information, it is a good idea to use a cross cut shredder to safeguard the information they contain. Retrieve your mail promptly from your home mailbox, so that credit applications and invoices don’t fall into the wrong hands. Many identity thieves will steal your mail to try to get information they can use.

You should take steps to protect any information that may be stored on your computer’s hard drive. It is a good idea to have a secure firewall, updated antivirus and spy ware all installed on your computer. Run it frequently to spot any potential viruses or programs that can retrieve your information and send it back to someone else. If you do business online, such as bill pay or online banking, make sure the website you use is a secure site that takes measures to protect the information you give them about yourself.

You can also subscribe to credit monitoring services that guarantee to monitor your credit report, and immediately alert you of any suspicious activity, and help you take care of any potential problems. This does cost you a monthly fee, but can save you the time of checking your credit report yourself.

Many of the companies you do business with, especially credit cards and banks will have programs in place to help protect you in case you do find yourself a victim of identity theft. Inquire about them, and if you don’t feel that they are up to par, consider taking your business elsewhere.

If you do think that someone has gained access to your personal information and has already begun to use it, you should contact the credit bureau and have them flag your report. This requires any potential creditors to speak with you personally before they can open any new accounts in your name. If you have unauthorized charges that are posting to your existing account, file a fraud claim with the companies, and the credit bureau. You will most likely also need to file a police report, and give a copy to all creditors, so that you are not held financially responsible for the fraudulent charges. Have activity suspended on all of your existing accounts, or open up new ones altogether, so that no more charges can be occur.

Identity thieves are constantly coming up with new ways to get your information for their financial gain, you just have to learn to make things harder for them, and what to do if it ever happens to you. You should not live in fear of identity theft, just be aware that it does happen, and can happen to you. Keep your head; know who you are giving your information to, and what they plan to do with it.