How to guard against identity theft is one of the most searched for terms online today. Crime statistics show the reason for this, is the alarming ongoing increase of personal ID stealing every day, not just in the U.S., but worldwide. You cannot pick up a newspaper, watch or listen to the radio and T. V. news programs without hearing of someone being ripped off by these thieves. As you continue to read, you will discover some very simple steps which you can take to avoid becoming one of those statistics.

You may not be aware of this but some company’s make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year selling your personal information. That’s right your name, address and phone number are sold to telemarketing companies, insurance companies, credit card companies, to name just a few. That’s why so many people get a lot of junk mail and unsolicited preapproved/prescreened credit card and insurance offers. One of the simplest steps you can take to prevent this is to read through these preapproved/prescreened credit card or insurance offers and look for the opt-out instructions. By following these instructions you will stop getting these preapproved/prescreened offers. Talking about a simple step to prevent I. D. theft, the next one may well be the simplest of all.

On a daily basis you receive junk mail from various vendors and especially credit card companies. It is very easy for you to look at the outside envelope and determine its junk mail and drop it in the trash. You have just made a big mistake. From now on take the step of cutting up or shredding junk mail that has your name, address, social security number and all other forms of your personal information listed.

Another simple tip for how to guard against identity theft is avoid using your mail box to mail bills around the first of the month. Experienced identity thieves know they can steal your check which will provide them with not only your address, your credit card number, bank account number and possibly your social security number. To avoid this opportunity for the thieves to steal, drop your bills in the nearest official government mail box or post office. In addition, if you are computer savvy, many banks make it easy and free to pay your bills on line.

Because of the multiple ways to steal someone’s personal information it can be difficult to be 100% safe. Common sense and following the above, how to guard against identity theft, tips can go a long way in preventing you from becoming one of the 8 million victims of I.D. theft.

For more information about identity theft visit http://identity-theft.resourcesandinfo.net web site dedicated to providing tips on identity theft prevention and identity theft protection.

Author: Bob Cummins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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Whether we like it or not, we live in a digital world where the security of our personal information is threatened every day. While it’s important to do everything possible to protect yourself, there’s a chance you could fall victim to identity theft. The most important thing you can do in this situation is to report it immediately so that the perpetrator can be punished and you can move on with your life. Fortunately, reporting identity theft is fairly easy:

Inform Your Local Authorities

As soon as you notice that your credit cards have been stolen, or if you find suspicious activity on your bank statements, you’ll need to inform the police. They’ll ask you about the details surrounding your situation and create a report. The police will also do whatever they can to apprehend the perpetrator. In addition, if you receive repeated threatening emails that ask you for sensitive information, it might be a good idea to file a complaint with the FBI.

Inform Your Bank and Credit Lenders

Chances are, you’ve been in a situation where you misplaced a credit card or have lost track of it for a short period of time. While you may feel embarrassed, the first thing you need to do is to call each bank that you received cards from. They will immediately put a stop on all transactions, and issue you cards with all new numbers.

If you actually do find suspicious transactions, you’ll need to call your bank and proceed with filing a report of fraudulent activity. Different banks have different policies on how to deal with these fraudulent charges – so it’s important to be aware of their policies before an emergency. As the digital revolution continues, many banks and credit card lenders are enacting specific policies to protect victims of identity theft – some even offer account monitoring programs designed to catch thieves in the act.

Alert the Social Security Administration

Unfortunately, once someone has access to your banking information, they may also find a way to gain access to your social security number. As a result, it’s crucial to have your social security number changed. Even though this may take a few months to accomplish, you will have peace of mind knowing that you have a new number that has not been compromised. Call the Social Security Administration as soon as you suspect someone has access to your number.

Alert the Department of Motor Vehicles

This is especially important if your driver’s license, registration, or auto insurance information have been compromised. In most cases, the DMV will issue you a new license for a fee. You may also want to ask your auto insurance carrier to issue you a new policy number. While it isn’t easy to use auto insurance policy information for direct monetary gain, it can still be used as supporting documentation of your identity.

Once the confidentiality of your personal information has compromised, it’s very important to notify the appropriate parties to minimize the amount of damage a thief can do. If you have been a victim of identity theft, keep an eye on your credit report for a few months following the event to make sure you’ve put a stop to the thief. The potential for identity theft will always exist in a digital world – especially when the computer hackers out there are smarter than the people working to protect us. Be diligent and be aware and you’ll prevent the worst of identity theft from happening to you.

Learn more about protecting yourself from online identity theft with the FREE Computer Safety Pro e-Course! Enroll now at [http://www.ComputerSafetyPro.com]

Author: Sarah Russell
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

With the ever increasing popularity of wireless internet connections, individuals are now often connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks to surf the net instead of paying for their own accounts. Although jumping on somebody else’s connection doesn’t seem like the crime of the century, the consequences can be very serious. When you connect to somebody else’s account, you automatically open up your PC or laptop and your personal information stored on it. This could actually be what the identity thief wants you to do!

Why Would The Hacker Want Me To Connect?

The Wi-Fi account holder could be intentionally allowing you access to his/her wireless connection so that they can harvest data direct from your computer. By setting up a proxy server and using it to capture your information. This may sounds quite technical and involved, but to a hacker this is an easy way they can steal all kinds of private details such as bank account logins, passwords and browsing habits.

On the other hand, there is also a danger for the account holder. Perhaps the Wi-Fi account holder has simply forgot to password protect his network, or doesn’t feel it’s necessary? This is a bad move. In this situation a hacker may piggyback the connection and commit illegal activities such as download music and movies, view banned sites or hack into secure accounts. By law, the account holder will be liable for any infringement or crime as it will be traced to them and not to the hacker!

What Can The Hacker Get

Additionally allowing others to connect to your account is a very risky move as hackers finding your unsecured network will be able to access a wide range of information from your computer including histories, login details, passwords, private email and much more.

A common technique used by identity thieves is known as the ‘Middle Man’ attack. This involves the thief/hacker trying to fool the unprotected router into feeding all information through the hackers computer. They can then simply snatch the data they want as the info flows through their PC or laptop. Again this includes sensitive data such as passwords, logins and account numbers.

How Can I Prevent This?

However don’t panic just yet! There is a very simple but effective method we can all use to help avoid identity theft from Wi-Fi hackers. Your most effective defensive strategy against all types of hacking is to simply ensure you are never connected to a wireless network that does not have a password protection. If you are setting up your own network, enable the password protection and make a note of it. You will need this at a later date if you decide to access the connection with more computers in your home.

Additionally, as always, an up to date Anti-Virus and active Firewall will work very well in tandem to keep thieves out. This three tiered security set up to protect your computer, the personal information stored on it, and help you avoid identity theft.

But don’t forget Windows Automatic Updates too! Once you have your anti-virus installed and running you’re safe to go online and update your update Windows operating system. Today’s versions of Windows comes with a handy ‘Automatic Updates’ feature which lets your computer update itself as and when it’s required, then simply let’s you know it’s ready to install. I strongly suggest you always have this switched on!

The information in this article is taken from the Identity Theft Defense e-Course. If you are worried by identity theft and would like to learn the tips and techniques you can use to defend yourself against identity thieves in 2008, subscribe to our FREE course today!

Author: Gary Bunn
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

You’re at the auto dealership, ready to close the purchase of a new car you’ve been excited about for months now. The kids are with you because you want them to experience the rewards of your hard work and good credit. It’ll give them a good example of the virtues of honest living. You’ve gotten a great deal, they’re throwing in the rust proofing and you’re meeting with the finance manager to get the loan straight, sign the papers and drop the kids off at their friend’s in the new car that’ll raise their status just a bit.

Just then the manager asks if you have alternative means of paying for the car.

“Why, is there a problem?”

“Well, yes. There are several things that need to be taken care of before we can get you approved for a car loan.”

You have no idea what they’re talking about. You pay all your bills you’ve always paid on time. Well, except the one time when you took that long vacation at the wrong time of the billing cycle but, even then they waived the late fee. What things need to be taken care of?

As the manager starts to list several accounts that have been listed as charged off, you stop him and ask to see that report for yourself. Feelings of anger, embarrassment and wonder course through you as you see items listed on your credit report that you didn’t open. There’s a half dozen accounts listed as collection accounts that you never opened. They’re all from about six months ago. You pull out the keys to your old car and direct the kids to go to the car. You realize that you’ve now got bigger issues to deal with than replacing the old family hauler.

Identity theft is a silent crime. You can be a victim and not realize it until months have passed. Thieves use your personal information to turn a quick profit and then give the scraps to other thieves outside the country to turn the attention of law enforcement away from them. They’ll take your information, open new accounts after changing your address, max out those charge cards and, of course, not repay the account. You won’t know anything about it until you apply for some form of credit where your report is pulled. Even then, unless you’re applying in person, you won’t know for a week or two after the request is made. You’ll get a notification of being declined for credit in the mail with some general reason for the decline and information on how to contact the credit repository whose information was used to make a decision.

So now the work starts. First of all, you’re protected by the bank card companies because they have fraud protection. You won’t be liable for the fraudulent charges. They all spend a lot of money in advertising telling you that so you’ll feel secure in using their product.

But what they don’t tell you is that you have 60 days to dispute the bill. If the charges haven’t been disputed by you after 60 days, then the creditors expect that the charges are legitimate. Seemed reasonable to them, seemed reasonable to Congress who made it the law. So, despite the best assurances of Madison Avenue, you friend are on the hook for the tab.

Recent statistics from the US Government show that you can expect to spend on average 600 hours and $1200 working to restore your good name should it be compromised. Yes, 600 hours. 600 hours of maddening telephone holding, dealing with bureaucrats and poorly titled customer service individuals all through no fault of your own. Or you can hire a company to work to restore your name. Kroll Fraud Solutions is one private company you can hire that uses licensed investigators and others to restore your identity. They currently charge $899 plus $15.95 monthly for ongoing credit protection. Of course, if you had their ID Theft Shield plan when your identity was compromised, you wouldn’t have to pay that $899. But this plan doesn’t cover the cost of paying those fraudulent charges that weren’t yours and are over 60 days old.

The best bet to begin the repair of your identity yourself is to start with the Federal Trade Commissions website, www.ftc.gov. They’ll start you on that long road to having only the correct legitimate information about you in your credit and other public reports. At least until you have to fix an identity theft again…

For more information on ID Theft and to receive a free e-book about tactics and protection, visit http://www.clydereviews.com

Questions, comments, let me know at mail@clydereviews.com

Thanks for reading, Clyde Cathcart

Author: Clyde Cathcart
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

You need a better password. If your are using just letters in your password, its a matter of time before you are hacked and the thing your are protecting is breached. The days of using your birthday, dogs name or make of your car is so outdated and unsafe.  Sure you can use tools and utilities to come up with these ultra encrypted password, but you wont member it.

Here is what you should do:

• When using all letters, substitute the letter I for the number one, the letter “s” with “$” and the letter “e” with “3″.
• Use a combination of  memorable event date of your life, with upper and lower case letters. For instance:  E88m90FC97.  To me It means: Engages in 88, Married in 90, First Child in 97.

Make your passwords easy for you but difficult for anyone to guess. While identity theft is on the rise, you need to protect and safe guard your information with a better and stronger password. Although there are many password keeping software programs, you still need the master password to access your passwords. Use what you know and simple transpose some letters, use a combination of upper and lower case letters and characters such as: #@$%&*.