7 Percent Of Americans Will Be Victimized By Identity Theft This Year

Identity theft is a crime of fraud, and sadly it’s a growing menace in America today. In any given year an estimated 15 million Americans will be affected by identity theft. That’s around 7% of adult Americans which is a shocking statistic. If you are unlucky enough to fall victim to identity theft it’s not only very distressing but can also take months to sort out.

So what measures can I take to protect myself?

One very quick gauge of whether you have fallen victim to identity theft is to keep a close eye on your credit score. You might even want to consider freezing your credit score so that no additional credit will be granted. Of course that could get inconvenient if you do need access to credit, but it’s worth consideration.

The other important step to take is to shred all personal documents before you dispose of them in the recycling. Criminals won’t think twice about rummaging through a dumpster. In the days of internet banking consider whether you really need paper bank statements? Of course you should only access bank accounts online if you are on a secure network. As a rule of thumb if you aren’t at home or at friends and you don’t have to sign in using a unique password, then the network won’t be secure.

These days criminals are getting very good at pretending to be banks or utility providers. If someone calls you then there is no reason they should need your personal information is there? If you are at all suspicious, hang up and call the company back. If they were trying to get hold of you, the call center will know.

And finally but perhaps most importantly of all you should guard your social security number very closely, and give it out only when strictly necessary.