Tips For Protecting Your Identity
As of November 1st banks are required to take extra steps to ensure they can detect
and prevent fraud related to identity theft. New laws ensure that identity theft
victims are compensated for their time and trouble when convicted identity thieves
are forced to cough up ill-gotten gains. But have you ever considered how much information
you provide during typical everyday transactions and how you provide identity thieves
with that information?
When you go to the supermarket and decide to purchase with your check card it is
designed to be easier and make the transaction faster for the consumer. Get you
in and out. Let’s stop and consider this transaction for a moment.
Have you ever wondered why they make the debit transaction the default? It is because
the company saves money. During a debit transaction the business does not have to
pay any fees to run your card. But when running the transaction as a credit card
transaction it falls under the rules of the credit card companies. So they pay a
percentage of the total transaction to the credit card company. You may think this
is no big deal to you so you go ahead and enter your pin and away you go.
When you enter your pin into the super market computer systems they are not supposed
to store this information. Sure you trust that your card number and pin are not
stored together, but the moment they are hacked you discover that they did store
that information and it is too late because the hacker has already drained your
account since they have your card number and pin. The illusion of security is gone.
It may take an extra step to run the transaction as a credit transaction but it
is well worth it to know that your pin is yours and is not getting stored in other
computer systems. Protect your pin and you are on your way to protecting your accounts.
Consumers need to be aware of their surroundings when you are talking about your
personal information. We are on our cell phones all the time and we conduct business
daily on these phones. Most people do not stop to consider who is within ear shot
of their conversations. For instance you are on your cell phone and your significant
other needs your social security number to perform some HR transaction at work.
So you start saying your number. Wait you are getting bad cell reception so you
start talking even louder, now everyone around you has your social and that is the
start. Only one piece of your identity is required to start working on getting the
stealing the rest.
So to protect your identity it starts with you. Be aware of who is asking for your
information and what they intended to do with it. See if they can perform the same
transaction without that information. Many times they can accommodate your requirement
of keeping your information save. Protect yourself and you can limit your risk for
theft.
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