Are you ready to fight against Identity Theft?

In the last post I posted a few questions regarding identity theft. The answer to the first question is "false." While Database breaches get a lot of media coverage (245 million consumer records have been exposed in data breaches in the past 4 years according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse), the number one method criminals use to steal our IDs is through old school tactics, rather than higher-tech approaches.

In 2007, the following methods were found to be utilized:
33% of the incidents were due to lost or stolen wallets.
23% of victims were "shoulder surfed" while conducting a transaction (the thief watched over the victim's shoulder as the victim punched in a PIN or used a credit card).
17% were victimized by family members or other people they knew.
12% were victimized online.
7% were victimized as a result of data breaches.
That's actually good news, since there's a lot more you can do to protect the information that's under your control than the stuff that's out there in somebody else's database.

Some ideas to help protect yourself are: Program your credit card 800 numbers into your cell phone so you can quickly report lost or stolen cards. Shield the keypad with your hand anytime you type in a PIN, and palm a credit card so the numbers don't show while you're waiting in line or finishing a transaction. Keep your checks, account statements and other sensitive financial information in a locked filing cabinet. This is especially important whenever people you don't absolutely trust will be in your home, such as during parties, when you're having work done on your house or during any family gatherings that include sketchy relatives. Set up e-mail alerts in your bank and credit card accounts to inform you when large transactions have been made or when your balance reaches certain limits. Monitor your credit reports. You can access reports from each of the three major bureaus once a year at the government's free site; consider getting a credit-monitoring subscription. Consider blocking access to your credit reports if you've already been a victim of identity theft or are at high risk. Never click on a link embedded in an e-mail, even if the message looks like it legitimately came from one of your financial institutions. Open a new browser window and type in the institution's URL yourself. Cancel paper bills and statements. Monitor your accounts and pay your bills online. People who monitor their accounts online tend to catch fraud much faster.