Preventing Consumer Fraud & Identity Theft
The number of identity thefts that have taken place in the last 3 years are more that the accumulated number of thefts that took place in the last 15 years. Identity thefts cost as much as $40-45 billion in one financial year. Scammers and fraudsters are now having access to newer and smarter technology which is used for illegal and fraud purposes. There are no specific and universal rules that can guarantee a 100 percent safety. But we can take some steps to ensure that our personal information is not easily stolen. Some of the steps are mentioned as below:
1.Getting your social security number printed on checks may not prove to be a good idea.
2.There are very few transactions which require a social security number to be submitted. Unless it is absolutely mandatory, do not provide your social security number.
3.Making a habit of checking the credit report at least once a year will assist in keeping an eye on unauthorized transactions.
4.Safeguarding hard copies of financial documents and proper disposal of non-relevant documents is one of the most important steps towards ensuring safety against identity theft.
5.Providing personal financial information over the internet or on the phone should be avoided as far as possible.
Identity theft and consumer fraud like most of the scams and frauds taking place, can be avoided if we choose to be better informed and create awareness about the subject.
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- Top 7 Tips for elder citizens to be one-up on online fraudsters!
- Facebook Scam , An example of Identity Fraud
