The number of reported cases of identity theft is fast approaching 10 million a year say the FTC so the odds of it happening to you are continually shortening.
Now clearly having your identity stolen at any time of the year is never going to pleasant but with the FTC estimating the average victim spends $500 and around 30 hours sorting out the damage left by the thief, stress levels are sure to be even higher should you fall victim over the Christmas period.
Unfortunately it is an irony of modern life that as the holiday season approaches, your chances of avoiding identity theft shorten even further. We are out shopping a lot more than usual for all those presents which increases the chances of us losing or having our wallet or purse stolen.
It’s the same online – the credit cards will be taking an even bigger hit this year as most families are struggling through the recession and will be putting Christmas on the plastic.
TransUnion have some precautions they recommend you take to help you avoid identity theft during the holiday period:
Monitor your credit. Consider enrolling in a credit monitoring service that will alert you via email to changes in your credit report. This way you will know quickly if someone else has tried to open a new credit account in your name.
When holiday shopping, only carry essential documents with you. Only take your driver’s license and the credit card or cards you intend to use that day. Do not carry your Social Security card, birth certificate or passport, and consider leaving at home other types of cards that may have identifying information on them, like wholesale club cards or library cards.
Before you surf the “Net” on Cyber Monday, consider changing your account passwords and keep a list of them in a secure place. Passwords and PIN numbers should be a random mix of letters, numbers and special characters, which makes it harder for identity thieves to guess.
The holidays mean plenty of extra trash. Shred everything that contains personal, identifying information before throwing it out.
Keep a close eye on your credit card bills. This is especially important during the holidays, when close attention can help you catch any charges you don’t recognize on your statement. An added bonus – you’ll also be more aware of how much you’re spending and be better prepared to stay within your holiday spending budget.
When shopping online, only do business with websites that have security measures in place to protect you. Before you provide any personal or payment information, look for a URL that begins with https (not http) and a lock emblem on the page, typically next to the address bar.
The above are all excellent tips and I would add changing your online passwords once you have finished your Christmas shopping to the list.
If you have been caught out by a phishing scam it can be some time before the criminal gets around to using the info because they use automation to send out literally millions of emails so changing your passwords makes the data they have collected worthless and they will move on to the next victim.
If you are someone who uses the same password for everything and it is made up of initials and a date of birth or house number, add an usual character to the end to prevent it being guessed – A single & sign or a * added to the start or end can increase their strength hundred fold.
Simply by being someone who is aware of the dangers of identity theft you have already lowered your risk considerably so don’t obsess so much that it spoils your Christmas – Just take some reasonable precautions to avoid identity theft happening to you as you shop for your presents this year.
Please do your bit to help others avoid identity theft this Christmas by clicking on one or more of the social buttons below, thank you.
