Monitoring Your Credit to Prevent Identity Theft
Imagine the feeling: You’ve worked tirelessly to save up for an entire year to replace the old clunker with a shiny new car. Now you’re finally ready to buy. You haven’t been monitoring your credit, so before heading to the dealership, you pull your credit report to learn your credit score and get a sense of the type of loan for which you’ll qualify.
But your report reveals a bombshell. Several credit card accounts have been falsely opened in your name. Someone has charged thousands of dollars in purchases!
Job-seekers: Could Your Personal Information Be Stolen?
Could you have your personal information stolen when you apply for a job? In a down economy where jobs are hard to come by, it appears some people will do just about anything for work—identity theft included.
The CBS news affiliate in Durant, Oklahoma, reports that James Matthew Chandler had his personal information stolen while applying for a job at J.C. Potter, a local sausage company. Another man used Chandler’s name, Social Security number and birthday to apply for the same job—and was actually hired!
Online Credit Card Theft Affects 130 Million: Learn to Protect Yourself
As many as 130 million people may be the latest victims of online credit card theft.
Two men were indicted in New Jersey this week for allegedly stealing 130 million credit and debit card numbers. It’s being called the largest identity theft case in American history.
Authorities say the men stole the numbers from credit card processor Heartland Payment Systems, convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. and supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers Co., Reuters reports. According to prosecutors, as early as 2006, the men began assessing the list of Fortune 500 companies and identifying potential vulnerabilities in their computer systems.
Are You Safe From the Latest Facebook and Twitter Scams?
When you log on to social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, are you worried about preventing identity theft?
Maybe you should be. Three in 10 people have experienced some type of scam on a social networking site, according to a study by security firm Webroot.
Security Central magazine in July pinpointed 5 of the latest social networking site scams. Ensure identity theft protection by learning and avoiding them:
1. Send me money!
Identity Theft Protection: An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure
Has your computer ever become infected by a virus or spyware? Remember the painful, lengthy process it was to remove it? If you’ve experienced this, the first thing you probably did after the problem was solved was add anti-virus or anti-spyware to your computer to prevent this all-too-common nightmare from happening again.
The above situation is directly comparable to identity theft – simple to prevent, tremendously difficult to solve. The old adage of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is truer in identity theft than anywhere else.
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