Technology lets you have your social media, emails, and bank information right on your devices. Unfortunately, identity thieves can access this information online by watching you enter the information in public or accessing your mail with personal information. This information helps identity thieves make purchases on your credit card or withdraw cash from your bank account. They could also receive medical care with access to your health insurance. However, there are preventative measures that you can take to keep your information safe; in this article, we’re going to discuss how to prevent identity theft from ever happening to you.
1. Freeze Your Credit Card
You can freeze your credit card with your bank so that no one can access your account and make purchases. Then, if your credit card got into the wrong hands, the thief will not be able to access the money.
2. Keep Your Mail Safe
Identity thieves can access your information by receiving your mail before you do. They can also find personal information in the mail that you threw in the trash. Collect your mail daily, and shred the mail that holds personal information before throwing it away.
3. Keep Track of Purchase History
Review your credit card and bank statements regularly to catch any unusual activity. For example, identity thieves may make small purchases to avoid being caught. Staying diligent about your purchase history will make it easy to point out fraud. Review your credit reports annually also to monitor activity.
4. Install Anti-Virus Software
Personal devices like computers and smartphones hold much personal information that hackers can access if not protected. Anti-Virus Software prevents hackers from accessing your information.
5. Protect Your Online Accounts
It may be easy to have the same password for every account, but this makes it easy for identity thieves to access all of your accounts. Instead, you can protect your accounts by having different passwords for each account. You can also enable two-factor authentication for your accounts for protection.
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What If My Identity Was Stolen?
The first thing you should do in the case of identity theft is to report the theft to the credit fraud department of Equifax, Transunion, and Experian to begin a security freeze. Then, contact the fraud department of your creditors, and contact your bank. After this, you can report the incident to law enforcement and find an identity theft attorney.
An identity theft lawyer can help you find the source of the identity theft, and get the credit bureaus to delete fraudulent accounts from your credit reports. When they refuse, the lawyers at the Holland Law Firm do not hesitate to sue the credit reporting agencies or the furnishers that are reporting false information about you.
Too often, the problem comes from lax standards at banks and finance companies. An identity theft attorney may be able to help you recover compensation for your money lost and the damages caused by identity theft, fraud, and errors.
Recovering what was lost due to identity theft can be difficult on your own, making it important to take preventative measures and find an attorney when necessary.
Don’t feel helpless if your identity has been stolen; help is available. Our experienced team of attorneys has worked with clients to help clear their names, get the compensation they deserve, and get their lives back together after their identity has been stolen.
Recovering what was lost due to identity theft can be difficult on your own, making it important to take preventative measures and find an attorney when necessary.
Don’t feel helpless if your identity has been stolen; help is available. Our experienced team of attorneys has worked with clients to help clear their names and get their lives back together after their identity has been stolen.
The Holland Law Firm offers additional resources here: https://www.hollandlawfirm.com/?s=identity