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5 Intention-setting Ideas to Protect Your Identity

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National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month!

With a recent burglary and learning that part of my Social Security number was found on “the dark web’ rattling my cage so to speak, I felt compelled to alert others to perhaps raise their awareness as to what they might be able to do to protect themselves.  December brings the holiday season and. along with it, an increased vulnerability to identify theft.

So, to bring more peace of mind to this season, below are some intention-setting ideas to consider to keep you and your information safer:

  1. Think Twice.   When receiving unsolicited emails, texts, or phone calls, stop for a moment and think twice, especially if there is a request for any personal or financial information. Scammers often pose as legitimate organizations.  Consider making it a standard practice to verify the source before sharing sensitive information and not clicking on suspicious links and/or downloading attachments until you have verified the source.  You might also consider asking someone you trust to review any unsolicited email or text to help discern if it is legitimate or a scam.
  2. Get Creative.  I know that when we have over 100 different accounts from banking to Netflix, thinking about having 100 different passwords can be quite overwhelming.  So perhaps look at coming up with passwords as a creative process that might bring a smile to your face, such as using symbols to represent letters (i.e., $ for S) and letters that sound like words (i.e., R for are).  You might use a password manager to securely store what you have created, even if it is a password-protected spreadsheet, like Excel.
  3. Double Your Authenticity. Many web sites have started to implement 2-factor authentication (2FA) on accounts to enhance security.  2FA requires a second form of verification, often a security code sent to the telephone number on record, in addition to a password.  Consider, whenever possible, enabling 2FA on your accounts to add an extra layer of security and enhance your peace of mind!
  4. Annual Monitoring.  There are three major credit bureaus in the US (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) that provide FREE annual credit reports.  You can request yours through AnnualCreditReport.com.  Consider putting a reminder in your calendar to check your credit reports regularly to spot any unauthorized activity.  Perhaps also consider signing up for credit monitoring services for real-time alerts, like I did, through LifeLock.
  5. Shred.  With so much technology out there, we might think that is where we need to simply focus our energies to protect our identifies.  However, it is still import to shred any documents that might contain personal information, such as Social Security numbers, including bank and credit card statements, health care EOBs/bills, 401K investment papers and/or utility bills instead of simply recycling them. This helps prevent thieves from accessing your information through physical means.  What we learned through our burglary experience is, thieves are focused on stealing locked safes because they often contain guns, yet they might also be where people put their Social Security cards and Birth Certificates.  So, paper is still a valuable commodity in the identify theft market.