Identity theft is a growing concern for Americans today. Thieves are able to hack, steal and obtain your personal information in ways you can’t even imagine. Once this information is compromised, your financial life and your good credit can be ruined for years. It takes a lot longer to get it fixed than it did for the thief to ruin it. Most of the time, the thief is never caught and he is free to move on to the next victim. This article will give you some useful information on how these thieves can obtain your identity so that you can protect yourself.

 Dumpster diving has long been a favorite way for thieves to obtain personal information about you. They will simply go through your trash for old utility bills, credit card statements, credit card offers and any other piece of mail with your personal information on it. Once this information is obtained, the thief can then use it to obtain new credit cards, apply for loans in your name and even wipe out your checking and savings account. The best defense against this is to shred all documents, even your junk mail. Use a cross cut shredder instead of a straight line shredder. These thieves have been known to be able to piece together the strips from the straight line shredders to get your information.

Shoulder surfing is another common way of getting information. The thief will stand very close to you while at the ATM or when you use your credit card to make a purchase. He will get your card number either by taking a picture with a tiny camera or by just looking and memorizing it. Once that number is in the wrong hands, it’s total financial chaos. It is best to always shield the keypad with your hands and body. If you hand your credit card to the cashier to swipe, try to keep your fingers over the numbers.

Another way that a thief will try to obtain your personal information is through email. They will send an email to you, posing as a bank or some other financial institution that you may have business with. The email states that fraud has been suspected on your account and will ask you to log in with your account numbers at the link specified to confirm your account number. Thieves have been doing this with PayPal accounts for years. The best advice is to never click on the link and never give your account information. Just delete the email.  

A thief can get your credit card number if you are using your cell phone in a public place to order items over the phone. They are able to use a baby monitor or other cheap kid’s toys to listen in on your cell phone conversation. Laptops that are being used in public hot spots are at risk also. The newest trend is “drive by” hacking. A thief can hack into your system with his laptop as he is driving by any of the public wireless hot spots. Arming yourself with knowledge is your most important defense against identity theft. Shred all of your documents, even junk mail and protect your credit and banking information at all times. It may save your financial life.  Be safe!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Credit Card Theft and Fraud, Identity Theft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.