Remember those commercials with the LifeLock CEO proudly displaying his social security number on the TV screen for the world to see? He wound up losing his identity on several occasions. Todd Davis, the former LifeLock CEO, had the final laugh though as the identity protection business he built was sold to Symantec for $2.3 billion in 2016.
A report a few years ago detailed that residents of Michigan fell victim to identity theft at a rate higher than any other state. While the general trend has been downward for identity theft cases, it is still an issue for the Wolverine State. The leading cause of identity theft cases involved theft of government documents and/or benefits fraud followed by employment or tax-related fraud situations.
That massive LifeLock sale showed there’s big money in the identity protection industry – for good reason. With today’s technology, it is not very difficult for fraudsters to grab hold of a key piece of your personal or financial information in order to steal your identity. Technology moves at lightspeed while security is slower to evolve.
The good news is that security is beginning to play catch up to the digital movement. Credit monitoring services don’t cost much, and many credit cards even offer this service for free. Credit cards are actually more secure than debit cards, so that is another reason to put away (or even destroy) or bank’s debit card and stick with a major credit card.
We will never be able to completely eliminate the risk of identity theft, but there are steps we can take to reduce the risk. Here are five steps you can take to help protect your identity:
- Protect your computer. It’s important to have a good antivirus program running on your PC at all times. Scammers like to embed emails and website links with codes that hack into your home computer to find your private financial documents. Don’t let that happen. You can buy a good antivirus software package from a company like Symantec.
- Monitor your credit report & score. You can access your full credit report once per year from each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion, and Experian). If you time it right, that means you can see your credit report once every four months.
- Be careful with email links. One of the most common ways would-be identity thieves get us is by sending bogus emails that look like the real thing. For example, they will send an email from what looks like Bank of America. The message has all the bells & whistles that a true email from BofA would have – the logos, the font, the disclosures. But it’s a fake! To be safe, don’t click anything, and just logon to your account via your web browser.
- Go electronic with your bank statements. This is one area where technology is actually making it safer to go digital. Paper statements are a risk because anybody can just put their paws into your mailbox and grab your financial statements. If you have paper statements, you must shred them to ensure that nobody can go through your trash to grab hold of the documents.
- Think security when surfing Facebook. Don’t reveal too much personal information on social media platforms. Fraudsters love Facebook – all of your information is right there for the taking – if you aren’t careful. Don’t put your birthdate, vacation plans, high school information, and the like open for the world of scammers to see.
A final point – your taxes. I mentioned earlier that Michigan residents who fell victim to identity theft often had their taxes accessed by scammers. TFC can help you file your return securely. And if you don’t feel the need to have us complete and file your return, please do so with a reputable tax filing service that you know has the best security. Don’t skimp in this area.
Here’s the point
- Technology makes it easier for your identity to be hacked by evil-doers, but you can make technology work in your favor in order to protect your identity
- Michigan is reported to be the leading state in the country for identity theft – we are most at risk!
- Be careful with how you do business online and how you store your personal information
- Your taxes are a major risk – be sure to take steps to reduce the chance of your 1040 return falling into the wrong hands
Action items
- Treat email & social media sites with skepticism. These are good things – we need email to communicate and social media is helpful to keep up with friends & family. We just want you to do it safely. Don’t put too detailed of personal information up for the world to see. And be careful with what you click in your inbox.
- Check your credit report & score often. Take advantage of free access to your credit report.
- File taxes securely. Don’t go for the ‘free’ tax filing service to save a few bucks. We are all about risk management at TFC, and that’s just not worth the risk!
Featured Image: Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash