You may not find a fool-proof way of preventing your identity theft; however, you could take certain preventive steps to minimize your risk. According to the reports of a study conducted in 2019 by Javelin Strategy & Research, we understand that one out of every 20 individuals nationwide was adversely impacted by identity fraud. As a result of which losses went up by 13 percent in comparison to 2018, and amounted to as much as $16.9 billion.
There seem to be diverse types of identity theft. It could entail gaining access to somebody’s health insurance, changing email passwords, establishing credit utilizing a kid’s Social Security Number, and even updating credentials for accessing an investment account or even more. Dealing successfully with identity theft could mean wasting a lot of money and precious time. You would end up spending hours obtaining affidavits and reports proving the identity theft, determining precisely what have been actually compromised.
Incorporate a Fraud Alert into Your Credit Report
A fraud alert actually makes it pretty difficult for thieves to have access to accounts that are in your name simply by warning some other organizations to confirm your identity just before going ahead with an application. You could consider placing a fraud alert on precisely your credit report just by getting in touch with any of the reputed three credit bureaus. Remember it is very much free. You must remember that a fraud alert would be lasting from only 90 days to as many as 7 years according to the kind of alert you have added. Incorporating a fraud alert into your credit report would be entitling you to a copy of specifically your credit report for free. It would be a golden opportunity to meticulously review your credit report and look for any kind of suspicious activity.
Consider Freezing Your Credit Report
A security freeze could be regarded as one step beyond placing a fraud alert in your credit report. You could freeze your specific credit report for free and rest assured that the security freeze would not be expiring. It would be necessary to come up with a valid proof of identity. You may ask for a security freeze separately for each and every credit bureau. As per https://www.inc.com, it is not enough to consider freezing your credit for identity theft prevention. You cannot, however, prevent misuse of your current accounts which is quite a common kind of identity theft. A credit freeze would be useful in safeguarding your new accounts from identity theft. This is a rare type of identity theft impacting just 4 percent of victims as per the latest data provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Keep Monitoring Your Current Account
You must make it a habit to go on monitoring closely your current account every day or at least, once every week. You may consider using an effective account-aggregation app such as Mint. Alternatively, you could log into your different accounts and ensure that all the latest modifications were done by you. In the event, you come across something suspicious; you may get in touch with your bank authorities at once. You may seek the expert services of Identity Guard to keep monitoring your accounts and constantly protect your identity on your behalf.
Use Two-Step Verification & Strong Passwords
You must focus on using strong and secure passwords and rely on two-step verification all the time. Since a majority of the identity thefts seem to occur with current or existing accounts, you must focus on protecting all your data online particularly for those accounts containing financial data, credit card data, or some critical identifying information.
Conclusion
You must get into the habit of examining your credit report on a regular basis. You could obtain your free copy from the three credit bureaus via AnnualCreditReport.com once every year. You may consider setting a reminder to check your credit report once every year or maybe every four months if you wish to be extra careful and vigilant.