Outsmart the Thieves with Identity Theft Facts

Some identity theft facts seem common knowledge, but others are not so well known. For example, did you know that simply opening an e-mail can expose you to identity theft? Some identity thieves are expert hackers and can hack into your computer simply by sending an unnoticeable file to your computer in an e-mail. Most people keep their personal information on their computers and with an e-mail virus a hacker can retrieve your computer files within minutes. How do you protect yourself? Arm yourself with the identity theft facts.

If you are aware of identity theft facts like the common e-mail virus, then you can easily protect yourself by not opening e-mails that come from somebody you do not know. Simply delete them sight unseen to avoid potential identity disaster.

Some e-mail scams are much more sophisticated than placing a virus into an e-mail. Identity thieves are well aware that people are learning the identity theft facts and they are becoming more and more creative. Some thieves send out e-mails that duplicate e-mails that you might receive from companies you trust. Do you do your banking online? What if you received an e-mail from your banking institution stating that it was time for your annual update, and provided a link for you to click that directed you to an official looking form to fill in with your personal information? Would you do it? Many people do every day - people who are unaware of identity theft facts. The e-mails and the online forms look exactly like they would look if the bank sent them, logos and all. The difference is that a bank will never send you an e-mail asking you to update your information online.

Often times identity thieves will go trash picking and get all of the information they need from the trash that you throw away. This is a well known identity theft fact, so many people shred their documents and mail with their identifying information on it before throwing it away. A lesser known identity theft fact is that some thieves actually look for bags with something shredded in it. The reason for this is because most people look for the least expensive shredder they can buy. These less expensive shredders only shred paper one way, forming strips. Often these strips either don’t completely separate or people leave them in together when they throw them away. These shreds are easily pieced back together by thieves and it is more fun for them to do so because they are taking advantage of a person who is smart about identity theft facts, just not smart enough to have spent a little more money on a criss-cross shredder.

Be smarter than the thieves. Know the identity theft facts.