Friday, January 16, 2015

How To Protect Yourself from Identity Theft







I was reminded today how important it is to keep a vigilant watch on your bank and credit card information.  As I reviewed my personal bank statement today online, I noted an unrecognized debit charge on my credit card.  It stood out to me, because I rarely use my bank debit card.  I use it to get cash from the ATM and once in awhile I may use it our local grocery store when I want to get some cash back.  Sure enough it was a fraudulent charge!  

There were over 13.1 million identity-theft cases in 2014 amounting to $18 billion in losses.  It is real, you have to be vigilant to stay ahead of the "crooks."
Here are Ten Things You Can Do To Protect Yourself from Identity Theft.


  1. LOCK UP ALL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS at home (birth certificates, passports, credit cards when not in use etc.)   Use a secure safe that is fireproof and is heavy enough it would be hard to steal from your home.
  2. DO NOT REVEAL non financial information online (facebook, twitter, etc.).  Examples - never list your full birth date on facebook or any other social networking site.  Don't lisT your home address or telephone number on any website you use for personal or business reasons - including job-search sites.
  3. BE CAREFUL WITH SNAIL MAIL.  Never place mail in your mailbox for pickup - take it directly to the post office.  Get your bank and credit card statements online.  Don't have checks delivered to your mail box (I know - most of the under 35 crowd are asking - what is a check?)
  4. REVIEW ALL BANK AND CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS WEEKLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is a must.   Also, set fraud alerts on your credit and debit cards so you will receive an alert if unusual charges are made.  These are free to setup from the bank and credit card companies
  5. DON'T USE ATM'S IN STORES OR GAS STATIONS.   Use Bank ATM's as they are usually more secure and monitored 7X24.
  6. DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS WHEN YOU TRAVEL - ONLY USE  CREDIT CARDS.  Credit cards provide the most protection if a there is fraud on your card, and the money does not automatically get debited from your bank account.
  7. NEVER USE DEBIT CARDS TO PURCHASE GOODS OR SERVICES ONLINE.  Credit cards have more liability protection and you do not risk large sums being withdrawn from your bank account.
  8. LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CREDIT CARDS YOU HAVE.  More credit cards expose you to more risk of identity theft, may negatively impact your credit score, and it just gives you more to manage.  I use one credit card for business and one credit card for personal.  I use only one debit card for personal.
  9.   DO NOT SET UP YOUR CREDIT/DEBIT CARD FOR REOCCURRING CHARGES.  Reoccurring charges can be forgotten and are pain to fix if you have to cancel your card.  I also do not recommend storing your credit card information on any website for future use - enter your card information each time you buy online.
  10. CANCEL YOU CARD IMMEDIATELY IF IT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED or even if you "think" there is potential that it has been compromised.  It is easy to cancel and get new cards and you will sleep better at night and you will stay ahead of the "bad guys." 
We are all use our debit/credit cards like currency.  We need to treat it just like currency and protect it from the identity thieves that are lurking everyone (online and peeking over our shoulder).  
 
Let me know how you protect your credit/debit cards from the "bad guys."
 
Eric Gurr CPA
 
 

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