Identity theft is one of the most inconvenient things that can happen to a person concerning his personal and financial information. People with criminal schemes are everywhere and they try hard to make an easy prey out of careless individuals. Hence, for you to avoid falling victim to these criminals you have to mind the simple things you should do or do not do online.
Destroy Sensitive Files
If you are the type of person who just reads the mail and disposes of it carelessly then you are an easy target for identity thieves. Even if it is just a statement that shows your address and telephone number, you should destroy it before throwing it away. Remember, thieves may use this basic information to gather more details from you. All the more, you should be careful when the documents contain very sensitive information such as your credit card information, banking details and investment statements. If you can shred the documents before disposal.
Mind the Schedule of Your Mail
You probably have an idea about which particular weeks of the month your bills arrive. There are times that they may be delayed for a day up to three days, and that is just fine. However, when the waiting extends to a week or more, you have to identify the reason why the mail arrives late as this may be intercepted or stolen by sinister individuals or syndicates.
Create Hard-to-Guess Passwords
Needless to say, you should be using passwords that are not easy for people to guess. It is advisable that apart from using an alphanumeric combination, you include other unconventional characters. This will lessen the chance of thieves accessing your various accounts online. Moreover, you ought to create a unique password for each of your online accounts. This way, in case an identity thief hacked his way into knowing one of your accounts, you do not have to worry about the same person accessing your other accounts.
Know Phishing Methods
This is probably one of the schemes that you should really be wary of. There are people who will try to gather as much information from you through seemingly legitimate platforms. For example, you will find an email that bears a link to a particular website. The website may attempt to falsely represent a company or a service that you really trust. Because they hide behind a good name, you give the details they require from you. Always verify beyond a doubt that the email came from the company it says it came from.